Harry Kalas passes away at 73

[NOTE] As promised, here is a tribute to the late Harry Kalas in the form of a special guest post from Dave.

"We lost our voice today" - Phillies President, David Montgomery

The Philadelphia Phillies family and the entire baseball world lost a beloved figure today in Harry Kalas, when he was found collapsed in the broadcast booth just after noon. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Kalas was 73, and in his 38th season of broadcasting Phillies baseball.

While the entire city of Philadelphia is in a state of shock, we must remember that Harry died doing what he loved, which is something that cannot be said for most who have passed on. A man who called over 6,000 games in his career, his voice will always be synonymous with Phillies baseball.

For 38 years Philadelphians welcomed Harry Kalas into their homes whether on TV or radio; many can remember listening on tiny transistor radios when games were not televised. 610 WIP's Anthony Gargano recalled stories of his childhood, when his parents would order him to sleep on a school night, and the Phillies would be playing a 10 p.m. game on the West Coast. He would hide a silver transistor radio and fall asleep to the sweet sounds of Harry The K with the radio under his pillow.

Others in the Philadelphia media echoed these thoughts, affirming that there will never be a classier individual in the business.

"He was just such a genuinely nice guy, and there will never be anyone else like him", said my uncle, KYW 1060's Ed Benkin. "I remember meeting him when I was an intern at 6 ABC in college, and asking him to come on my talk radio show at Rowan. Without hesitation he gave me his home number and agreed. I still have the cassette tape of that show, and will keep it forever."

Baseball is very different from the other three major sports: Because of the downtime between pitchers, you hear stories and anecdotes from the announcers and really get to know them. Harry Kalas was a part of all of our families.

Personally, I know there were times at school or work when I would have a rough day, but come home and put on a Phillies game; things seemed just a little better when Harry was at the mic. He could get you through a tough day, or an entire two-hour drive.

Every kid in this area who played baseball with their friends, or little league, has envisioned in their heads Harry Kalas announcing their at bat. I know I certainly did.

Everyone has done an Harry Kalas impersonation. Some are better than others. But there will never be a voice like Harry's.

We'll always remember the "Long Drives" and the "Outta Heres." The "Can you believe it's" and the "Chase Utley, you are the man's." None of us will forget the nicknames of Mitchie-poo and the Krukker, or Mike Schmidt becoming Mich-ael Jack Schmidt.

I am sure when Harry got to the pearly gates of Heaven, his best friend in the world Richie Ashburn, "Whitey," was waiting there with a cigar, a gin and tonic and a few kind words. While we'll never hear him call another inning of Phillies baseball, somewhere up there, he is calling every pitch with "His Whiteness."

As for this Phillies fan, I know I'll never be able to watch another Phillies home run without the echoes of "Swing and a long drive..." in the back of my head. He'll never be replaced or duplicated. Growing up -- aside from my father's-- his is the most familiar voice of my childhood.

Harry Kalas is a part of every memory I have of Phillies baseball. From Mitch Williams striking out Bill Pecota to win the 1993 Pennant, to the heart break of Joe Carter's home run. From the Brett Myers curve ball to send the Phillies to the post season for the first time in 15 years, to Eric Hinske chasing a Brad Lidge slider low and away. Harry is a part of everything, and watching a Phillies ballgame will never be the same.

Harry, we'll forever love and remember everything about you. You will be deeply missed by all of us.

Cosby's gone mad

I recently heard the audio of this on my favorite morning radio station and I could not believe how insane Bill Cosby has turned. He sounds like he's doing an impression of Kenan doing an impression of Bill Cosby on All That (remember that show??).

Anyway, take a look. He's out of control. He makes a bunch of crazy noises, forgets the name of the other team and cuts himself off for a commercial break.

NFL worthy?

I'm currently smack-dab in the middle of another NFL Sunday, and while I'm pretty pleased with the results of games and my fantasy players' stats so far, I haven't seen anything like this yet...

Morgan State's Edwin Baptiste made a ridiculous one-handed catch on a pass from quarterback Carlton Jackson during this weekend's game against Winston-Salem State. The Bears defeated the Rams 21-7.

You should probably watch this more than once. And get another look at it on ESPN's E:60 this Tuesday at 6 p.m. Pretty sick.




[UPDATE] Big ups to New Jersey - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been announced as the main halftime performance at the 2009 Super Bowl. The game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday, Feb. 1 and air on NBC. The news came during halftime of tonight's Eagles/Bears game on NBC.

A fond farewell

Sorry I've been MIA this weekend - After an "interesting" Friday night (for lack of better description and to save you all the drama), I spent my entire Saturday in New York, the bulk of which was spent at the Yankee's second to last home game --and last day game-- in Yankee Stadium EVER.

And thanks to my boyfriend (who got me the tickets in July for my birthday), our seats were freaking incredible.

The Bronx Bombers did not disappoint: Robinson Cano with the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth gave Mariano Rivera the win and had Frank Sinatra crooning, "Start spreading the news..." for the next 45 minutes. On repeat. And I loved every second of it.

Tonight at 8 p.m., you can tune in to ESPN to watch the Yankees play their final game in the House That Ruth Built. The pre-game (going on right now), features Yankee greats like Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Joe Girardi, Don Larsen and more.

Pictures from my awesome seats will be up soon!

Phelps v. Ocho

Michael Phelps may be going for eight gold medals in Beijing this year, but that's not the Ocho I'm talking about...

On ESPN's Pardon the Interruption last night, Cincinnati Bengal's wide receiver Chad Johnson gave Wilbon and Kornheiser "five good minutes," which included an outright challenge to the seemingly untouchable Phelps. Check it out below (about 4 minutes in). Apparently we had no idea that Olympic talent is swimming rampant in the inner-cities.



Overall, Chad --otherwise known as Ocho Cinco by way of my favorite interview ever-- seemed pretty subdued during the interview, even during the awkward and heartwarming threat against quarterback Carson Palmer, who was standing behind him. On this morning's Sportscenter, a clip of him at training camp showed that he was being threatened with fines from management to talk to the media.

And while we're on the topic of Chad... Word on the street is that the wide receiver has taken the first steps to officially changing his last name from 'Johnson' to 'Ocho Cinco' to avoid getting improper jersey fines when he wears the incorrect Spanish translation of his number 85 on his back. He's a headcase, but I love him.

"A trip that truly touched them all"

I meant to post this story this weekend, I just got a little sidetracked.

If you haven't yet heard the story of Sara Tucholsky and Mallory Holtman, then please indulge in the full detailed, column-version of one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship ever reported.

If you don't feel like reading this all, please watch this video. It's amazing. Not gonna lie--I got a little welled up.




The shorter version of the article is that 5-foot-2 Tucholsky, a senior softball player at Western Oregon, had never hit a homerun in her entire career. But when her team met with conference rival Central Washington in the second part of a double header Saturday, the part-time starter and unlikely hero jacked a three-run shot over the wall in center field, launching her to team in an eruption of high fives and celebration.

Except Tucholsky, in all her glory, missed first base during her homerun trot. She turned to correct her misstep and doubled over to the ground as her right knee gave out and her ACL tore.

The Western Oregon coaches knew that they couldn't touch Tucholsky or the play would be called dead, the hit would be recorded as a two-run single and the senior's first--and only--home run of her career would be taken away.

But a compassionate offer from the competition allowed Tucholsky to touch 'em all: Central Washington's Holtman, who holds almost every hitting record at the school and has seen her fair share of HRs, asked the umpire if she and the CW shortstop could carry Tucholsky around the bases.

"Honestly, it's one of those things that I hope anyone would do it for me. She hit the ball over her fence. She's a senior. It's her last year...I think anyone who knew that we could touch her would have offered to do it, just because it's the right thing to do. She was obviously in agony."--Mallory Holtman.

The girls supported Tucholsky as they inched along the basepath to touch every base and scored the third run. Holtman's team rallied with two runs later in the game, which--had Tucholsky not scored--would have been enough to tie the game, but Western Oregon held on to the win.

If you want to see the event in action, watch the above embedded video.

An umpire later confirmed that the rule in question was misinterpreted on the field after Tucholsky's injury and later clarified by the NCAA. According to the rule book: "If an injury to a batter-runner or runner prevents her from proceeding to an awarded base, the ball is dead and the substitution can be made. The substitute must legally touch all awarded or missed bases not previously touched."

But no one at the time knew that, making this a completely selfless act that has deservedly received a lot of national attention and praise. Ahh, lots of warm fuzzies.


*Thanks, Stace