A member of my girlfriend's church has his grandmother and mother die within 48 hours of each other. They were, more or less, his immediate family. Very sad.
--Ben Tony wrote: > crazy isnt it. poor fella. GREAT person from what Dave Winfield said > last night on Sportscenter. > > anyway, even crazier, a girl here at work (36 yrs old) her father had > an anuerysm two > weeks ago, friday was his viewing, that morning, she had one!!!??? > crazy as its close > to the same thing that an anuerysm is, and she is in danger of having > one in the post-op > two week period that is now. so, we are all pulling for her, and > unsure what will happen > next. hopefully not this. > > tw > > On 3/7/06, Ray Champagne <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> What a sad story. >> >> Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett Dies at 45 >> >> By DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Sports Writer Tue Mar 7, 7:24 AM ET >> >> MINNEAPOLIS - Kirby Puckett didn't need much time to make a big impact. >> Those who felt it, near and far, can only wish he had stayed around longer. >> ADVERTISEMENT >> >> The bubbly Hall of Famer with the boyish enthusiasm for baseball, who >> led the >> Minnesota Twins to two >> World Series titles before his career was cut short by glaucoma, died >> Monday after a stroke. He was 45. >> >> "He was revered throughout the country and will be remembered wherever >> the game is played," commissioner Bud Selig said. "Kirby was taken from >> us much too soon and too quickly." >> >> Indeed, Puckett was the second-youngest person to die having already >> been enshrined at Cooperstown, Hall of Fame spokesman Jeff Idelson said. >> Only Lou Gehrig, at 37, was younger. >> >> Stricken early Sunday at his Arizona home, Puckett died at St. Joseph's >> Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, where friends and family had >> gathered. Puckett, who was divorced, is survived by his children, >> Catherine and Kirby Jr. He was engaged to be married to Jodi Olson this >> summer. >> >> Funeral arrangements were pending. >> >> Puckett's post-retirement weight gain over the past decade concerned >> friends and family, who were saddened but not shocked by his stroke. >> >> "It's a tough thing to see a guy go through something like that and come >> to this extent," former teammate Kent Hrbek said. >> >> Puckett led the Twins to championships in 1987 and 1991 after breaking >> into the majors in 1984. With a career batting average of .318, six Gold >> Gloves and 10 All-Star game appearances, Puckett woke up one morning >> during spring training in 1996 and never played again because of >> blindness in his right eye. >> >> "That's what really hurt him bad, when he was forced out of the game," >> Hrbek said. "I don't know if he ever recovered from it." >> >> A makeshift memorial began to form Monday night outside the Metrodome, >> with a handful of bouquets, caps and candles laid on the sidewalk. "I >> grew up in centerfield yelling down on him. It's just not right," said >> fan Daniel Boche, who knelt down to pay his respects. "He was my idol >> growing up." >> >> "It's tough to take," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said from the >> team's spring training camp in Fort Myers, Fla. "He had some faults, we >> knew that, but when all was said and done he would treat you as well as >> he would anyone else, no matter who you were." >> >> Though he steadfastly refused to speak pessimistically about the >> premature end to his career, Puckett's personal life began to >> deteriorate after that. >> >> Shortly after his induction to Cooperstown, then-wife Tonya accused him >> of threatening to kill her during an argument he denied it and >> described to police a history of violence and infidelity. In 2003, he >> was cleared of all charges from an alleged sexual assault of a woman at >> a suburban Twin Cities restaurant and kept a low profile after the >> trial, eventually moving to Arizona. He stopped coming to spring >> training as a special instructor in 2002. >> >> Puckett was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try in 2001, and >> his plaque praised his "ever-present smile and infectious exuberance." >> >> He spent his entire career with Minnesota. >> >> "I wore one uniform in my career and I'm proud to say that," Puckett >> once said. "As a kid growing up in Chicago, people thought I'd never do >> anything. I've always tried to play the game the right way. I thought I >> did pretty good with the talent that I have." >> >> Puckett's signature performance came in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series >> against Atlanta. After claiming he would lead the Twins to victory that >> night at the Metrodome, he made a leaping catch against the fence and >> then hit a game-ending homer in the 11th inning to force a seventh game. >> >> The next night, Minnesota's Jack Morris went all 10 innings to outlast >> John Smoltz for a 1-0 win, Minnesota's second championship in five years. >> >> "If we had to lose and if one person basically was the reason you >> never want to lose but you didn't mind it being Kirby Puckett. When he >> made the catch and when he hit the home run you could tell the whole >> thing had turned," Smoltz said. >> >> "His name just seemed to be synonymous with being a superstar," the >> Braves pitcher added. "It's not supposed to happen like this." >> >> Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk echoed Smoltz's sentiment. >> >> "There was no player I enjoyed playing against more than Kirby. He >> brought such joy to the game. He elevated the play of everyone around >> him," Fisk said in a statement to the Hall. >> >> Puckett's birth date was frequently listed as March 14, 1961, but recent >> research by the Hall of Fame indicated he was born a year earlier. >> >> The youngest of nine children born into poverty in a Chicago housing >> project, Puckett was drafted by the Twins in 1982 and became a regular >> just two years later. He got four hits in his first major league start >> and finished with 2,304 in only 12 seasons. >> >> Though his power numbers, 207 home runs and 1,085 RBIs, weren't >> exceptional, Puckett won an AL batting title in 1989 and was considered >> one of the best all-around players of his era. His esteem and enthusiasm >> for the game factored into his Hall of Fame election as much as his >> statistics and championship rings. >> >> He made his mark on baseball's biggest stage, leading heavy underdog >> Minnesota to a seven-game victory over St. Louis in 1987 and then doing >> the same against Atlanta in one of the most thrilling Series in history. >> >> "There are a lot of great players in this game, but only one Kirby," >> pitcher Rick Aguilera said when Puckett announced his retirement. "It >> was his character that meant more to his teammates. He brought a great >> feeling to the clubhouse, the plane, everywhere." >> >> > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:199249 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
