TOTS hold annual luncheon at Randolph GC; Tom Waddell guest speaker

The Tucson Old Timers Baseball Club, the world's oldest baseball team, held its annual luncheon yesterday afternoon (April 8) in the Copper Room at the Randolph Golf Course. Former Cleveland Indians pitcher Tom Waddell was the guest speaker and he admitted he wasn't sure what to say in front of a bunch of old timers, ranging in age from 60 to 90, whom still play baseball for the love of the game.

"I spend most of my day working with and instructing kids on how to play the game," said Waddell, who owns The Yard, an indoor instructional facility on Tucson's east side. Waddell, who pitched for the Cleveland Indians in 1984, 1985 and 1987, figured giving advice to the members of the TOTS baseball club on how to play the game just didn't seem to be the right approach to take for this particular speaking engagement.

Instead, Waddell related some of the many "inside the locker room stories" which he witnessed during his days as a hurler for the Indians. At the top of the list, was his teammate Bert Blyleven, who had a habit of pulling off his share of "boys will be boys" antics, on and off the field of play. Waddell recalls Blyleven took the well-known "hot foot" prank to a new level. "Lighting up a teammate's laces was one thing, but Burt would pour rubbing alcohol over the entire shoe and then light it up," recalls Waddell.

He had plenty of other stories to tell, but he figured, as he glanced around the Copper Room at the many ladies in attendance, it just wasn't the right road to go down.

As for Waddell's pro career, he went 15-11 as a relief pitcher with the "Tribe". Tom finished his stint in the majors with 118 strike outs and a 4.30 ERA. He also recorded 15 saves.

As for the TOTS, they enjoyed having Waddell as their guest speaker and they also enjoyed rehashing some old stories of their own. Of course, some of their stories go way, way back! For instance, 73-year-old Bob Katz (top photo), a member of the TOTS since 2004, recalls his teenage days in Philadelphia, Pa.

"I grew up in Philly and my mother would give me 60 cents and I'd hop on the trolley and head for a Phillies game," Katz said, as he sipped on a glass of tea at his table during the luncheon. "It cost a quarter for the trolley and another 35 cents to get into the game."

My goodness, have times changed. You can barely buy a stamp these days for what Bob's mother dished out to him in the summer of 1950. Bob certainly got his monies worth sixty years ago. He walked through the turnstiles at Shribe Park, found his seat, and watched baseball greats like Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts, Dick Sisler and "Schoolboy" Rowe play the game of baseball.

Tom Waddell has his fond memories of the "game" tucked away in the corner of his mind. As for the members of the TOTS, they too, have their own memories to rekindle. It just takes them a little longer to remember.

You can call him Mr. Johnson...

Bookemdano's Diamondbacks Report: You can call him Mr. Johnson.

The Diamondbacks' newly-acquired second baseman Kelly Johnson hit two homeruns yesterday as Arizona defeated San Diego, 5-3, and won its season-opening series.

The Diamondbacks will take a 2-1 record into a matchup Friday at Chase Field with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates (2-0) will go for a sweep of their series with the L.A. Dodgers today in Pittsburgh. Johnson collected three RBI yesterday, while teammates Chris Young and Justin Upton hit solo shots.

Ian Kennedy hurled five innings and struck out eight batters, but left the game after throwing 94 pitches. Boyer got the win in relief and Qualls recorded his first save.

Not a bad series' opener for the D'backs.

The little engine that could...

I have a little friend that I've known for six years. His name is Trevor Crain.

He reminds me of a train in a children's book I read more than 60 years ago called The Little Engine That Could.

Trevor was born 12 years ago, a preemie, weighing in at one pound and fourteen ounces. Last week, the young mighty mite raced in a 5K-run in the community of Vail, Arizona. Trevor, who has grown into a powerful human engine in his 4-foot, 6-inch frame, crossed the finish line in a shade over 22 minutes, beating out most of the adults in the race as he finished eighth overall.

Trevor will be a force to be reckoned with on his middle school team for the next three years. In his first school meet of the season, Trevor, a sixth grader, finished his mile run in 5.59. If he keeps that up, chances are he will be running the mile in under five minutes by the time he reaches high school.

 've already got a nickname for him: The Crain Train.

Gene Hackman where are you?

Gene Hackman wasn't on the bench in this one.

Instead, 33-year-old Brad Stevens was at the helm. Stevens and his Butler Bulldogs almost accomplished the unthinkable, but fell 61-59 to the mighty Duke Blue Devils at the NCAA national championship game in Indianapolis tonight.

No Hoosiers ending, but close.

The tiny school from Indianapolis had the home court advantage at the Hinkle Field House, but the shots just didn't fall in for the Bulldogs in the second half -- including the half court shot at the buzzer by Gordon Hayward. Hayward's shot banged off the backboard and off the rim, ending Butler's chance for the crown.

In 1954, Bobby Plump's shot went in at the buzzer as the small school from Milan, Indiana, won the high school state championship game. Plump and his high school teammates were the inspiration behind the hit sports flick, Hoosiers (released in 1986), which starred Hackman as the legendary coach Norman Dale. Plump now owns a restaurant in Indianapolis called Plump's Last Shot.

Plump was among the 70,000 that witnessed the NCAA title game tonight. The conclusion of tonight's title game was almost as dramatic as Milan's victory 56 years ago.

I've seen Hoosiers at least 100 times. If you want to know the truth, I'd watch it another 100 times, before I'd watch Duke win another title. I'm an Arizona fan, not a Duke fan. I must admit that tonight's title game was outstanding...one for the ages.

It was March Madness at its best.

Bookemdano's Diamondback Report...

When the clock strikes 2:10 this afternoon the Arizona Diamondbacks will embark on its 2010 season.

Dan Haren will take the mound today at Chase Field and will face the San Diego Padres. Behind him will be some new faces. Adam LaRoche will be at first base and Kelly Johnson at second, two veterans acquired over the winter by the Diamondbacks. It'll be good to see Diamondbacks' returnees Stephen Drew and Mark Reynolds back at shortstop and third base, respectively, and it will be nice to see the return of veteran Conor Jackson to his familiar spot in left field. Chris Young gets another shot in center field and Justin Upton, who had a great spring training, will return in right. Miguel Montero will get the start over Chris Snyder behind the plate.

There are the starters, so let's get it on.

We have 162 games ahead of us. The only downer at this point: no Mr. Webb. Anxious to see how newly-acquired pitchers Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson handle their duties in the rotation. It'll be a real plus if both hurlers gets off to a good start.

Let's play ball!

Diamondbacks Update: Good start! Diamondbacks win 6-3. Dan Haren hurls seven solid innings and Stephen Drew bangs one off the center field fence for an inside-the-park homerun. Mark Reynolds adds a round-tripper. Diamondbacks host the Padres again tomorrow.

A sports writer in the making...

I went to a family cookout over the Easter weekend. It was a busy affair, as usual, with the adults catching up on the latest family news and the children running in and out of the house, enjoying themselves.

I took a moment away from the roar of the crowd, so to speak, and sat down at the dinner table and proceeded to read an article that my daughter-in-law had handed me. I had known about the article for weeks, but this was the first time I'd been able to hold it in my hand. My grandson, Jadon, who is in fourth grade, had received an "A", with an "S" attached to it (I might add)for a story he had written.

Jadon and his classmates were given a writing assignment in which they were required to compose a story that had a beginning, a middle and a conclusion. The children were required to gather their thoughts, come up with a draft of their story line, and then mold it all together into a final dramatic piece. Of course my grandson loves baseball and it was no surprise that he selected a theme on how he handled the pressure when he took the ball from his coach, headed for the mound and pitched in his first Little League game.

Surprisingly, he had his story down pat, compete with the how, the when, the where, and even why he did it. At one point in his story, he said his teammates were counting on him and that the game was riding on his shoulder. It was not only a cute story, but a good story filled with exactly what the teacher had requested: a story with a beginning, a middle and an ending.

Jadon's masterpiece reminded me of years long gone, back to a time when I sat in front of a computer and banged out a sports story that would eventually find its way to the next edition of my newspaper. I never got tired of seeing my work in print. Could it be? Do we have another sport writer in the family? Jadon just may find his way into a journalism career. That would be okay with me.

One thing is for sure, Jadon has everything ahead of him. He has his beginning, he's heading for the middle, and I can't wait til the dramatic conclusion.

Enough said, from a proud grandpa.

Former Wildcats blistering the nets in NBA...

Nine former University of Arizona basketball players scored points in the NBA last night. Jason Terry led the way as he netted 29 points as the Dallas Mavericks edged Memphis in overtime, 106-102.

If you total up all the scoring by the ex-Wildcats you'll come up with 121 points. Not bad for a day's work in the NBA. Richard Jefferson of the Spurs scored 19, Andre Iguodala poured in 14 for the 76ers, Will Bynum scored 13 for the Pistons, and Channing Frye (Suns) pumped in 12 points, as did Houston's Chase Budinger, who scored his dozen against San Antonio. Mike Bibby netted 12 points for the Atlanta Hawks, Jerryd Bayless scored six points for the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jordan Hill, Budinger's teammate at Houston, knocked down four points in his 19 minutes of work against the Spurs.

Great job by the former Wildcat greats. And that was without the Lakers' Luke Walton and the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas. Walton is out with an injury, and Arenas is still in the doghouse, serving his suspension from the NBA.

Put those 11 players together and you'd have a pretty good and very competitive NBA team.