COLUMN: A stack of short stories

OFF THE MARK COLUMN
By: 
Mark Spensley
Express Co-Publisher

     Here are a few tidbits to chew on this week. I hope you enjoy them.

     Steve Bartman. This is a true story. No one was hurt in the writing of this piece. In case you are not familiar with Steve Bartman, he is infamous for deflecting a foul ball during game 6 of the 2003 NLCS between the Marlins and Cubs. The Cubs were just five outs away from punching a ticket to the World Series.

     Bartman was sitting along the left field foul line when he, along with many others, reached for a foul ball that was destined for the stands. Cubs’ leftfielder Moises Alou attempted a leaping catch but failed to make a play. Alou was steamed, as he felt he would have made the catch.

     Unfortunately for Bartman, the television cameras zoomed in on him and splashed his face for everyone in the world to see. It didn’t take long for his name to get out in public and he was vilified for doing what most fans would have done, tried to catch a foul ball. For the record, I felt very bad for him.

     Which brings me to my small connection to Steve. This week my brother-in-law pointed out that both Steve and his brother attended my sister Sheila’s wedding that took place on a cruise in Florida many years ago.

     The Bartman brothers were friends with her husband at the time. I’m guessing at some point during the cruise I saw, maybe talked to, or snorkeled with Steve and his brother. I’m hoping there is video evidence to confirm this.

     Calico Storico Fiorentino. Any idea what this is? Me either until I read an ESPN story about this bizarre sport that takes place in Italy. Calico storico football is a form of football and rugby with a bit of MMA thrown into it.  Two teams of 27 players, in costumes that resemble something from the Renaissance era, battle to maneuver a ball into the opponent’s goal.

     Apparently there are only about three to four rules, no striking an opponent from behind; no striking an opponent that is already on the ground and no ganging up on an opponent unless he has the ball.

     You can punch, kick or wrestle an opponent at anytime during the game otherwise. Pinning an opponent down is also allowed. It is a continuous 50-minute clock, players are not allowed to substitute even if someone is knocked out or injured.

     There are only four teams that play and just one tournament a year, but that doesn’t stop the players from practicing three times a week over a three-month period prior to the tournament. Sounds brutal.

     The Juice is out. So I kind of forgot about O.J. Simpson being in jail. In fact I really could care less about the Juice. But O.J. made headlines again last week when he came up for parole for kidnapping and stealing.

     Simpson was serving a 33-year sentence and was nine years into his prison stay. In 2013 he was granted parole for some of the charges but continued to serve since the multiple sentences were set to run consecutively.

     For me the strangest thing to come out of this was one of the victims in the robbery, Bruce Fromong, spoke in Simpson’s favor. Go figure.

 

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