Archive for May, 2007
Darrell Blomberg, president of AzTech Realty of Phoenix, made the ultimate sacrifice recently by auctioning off his beloved ponytail to build a home for a needy family.
Blomberg attended the annual Habitat for Humanity Valley of the Sun Blueprints & Blue Jeans gala with the intent of raising enough money to build an entire Habitat home.
When he attended the event last year, he was surprised that although most of the guests were bidding on building material auction items, only the prevailing high bidders made donations. The rest of the bidders went home with their money.
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So this year he developed a plan to address that problem, and it involved his waist-length ponytail. Blomberg had planned on eventually donating the ‘do to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from medical-related hair loss. So he decided to accelerate his plan and shear his locks at the auction if enough bidders ponied up cash.
When the bidding reached $10,000, the auctioneer yelled “get the scissors,” but because a new home would cost closer to $65,000, Blomberg insisted that the auction continue.
With a little prodding, the aggregate bidders reached the $65,000 mark, so Blomberg grabbed a chair and shouted, “Cut it off!”
“We have raised money using many different methods . . . but this is a first to raise an entire house from a haircut,” said Christine Odom, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Valley of the Sun.
May 31st, 2007
On those hot June nights in 1970 in the small town of Monticello, you could find 20-year-old Wes Stiverson hanging out with a bunch of guys on the corner of the courthouse square, right across the street from the ice cream shop.
Sometimes Wes and the other guys would go down to Kirby Hospital and sit on the brick wall outside, waiting for the young nurse’s aides to get off duty.
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His dark blue 1966 Chevelle, so fast he sometimes took it to the drag races in Charleston, never had a speck of dirt on it as he drove it through Monticello’s streets.
The guys liked to cruise around the square and up State Street toward the cemetery. The summertime hit “Get Ready” might have been on the radio that he kept tuned to WLS or KMOX. Maybe he turned the volume way up for “White Room.” He really liked the band Cream.
Always the tallest of the bunch at 6-foot-6, he kept the other guys laughing. A real cut-up, little brother Jack Stiverson remembers. Conversation never got too deep. Back in those days, the only things Wes talked about were cars, motorcycles and women, Jack recalls.
Wes graduated from Monticello High School in 1968, tried a semester at Illinois State University and ended up back in his parents’ house in Monticello. He took a job at General Cable that paid well enough for him to afford his car and a couple Harley Davidsons.
Jack Stiverson tries to visit his brother’s grave at Monticello Cemetery once a week. By John Dixon
When the draft notice came, Wes wasn’t happy, but he sold his Chevelle and motorcycles and went off to basic training in Fort Polk, La.
You did what you had to do, Jack says. You did it whether you wanted to or not.
When Wes got a leave at the end of basic training, he knew he was bound for Vietnam. That time at home was pretty much a two-week drunken party, Jack recalls with a laugh, shaking his head.
“The specifics, I don’t remember,” he says.
He also doesn’t recall it being difficult to say goodbye when Wes left for Vietnam. No one wanted him to go, but Wes had no doubt that he’d survive, and Jack believed him.
Wes wrote letters, mostly to his mom and dad, a few to Jack and also to oldest brother Jerry.
Wes had been in Vietnam about six months when his unit came under fire. A mortar shell exploded nearby, pelting him with shrapnel. A chunk of metal about the size of a 50-cent piece penetrated the top of his head. Shrapnel also injured his right hand and right thigh.
A day you don’t forget
The attack occurred April 6, 1971. A Tuesday.
The telegram arrived Friday, April 9. The Western Union delivery man had stopped at the sheriff’s office in Monticello to get directions to the Stiversons’ house. The sheriff knew the family well. He took the telegram and delivered it to Wes’ mom and dad himself.
It must have been a nice spring night because Jack was up on the courthouse square, hanging with his friends, making plans for the evening, when his brother Jerry came to get him.
Jerry told him to get home, and Jack recalls arguing with him. Then Jerry told him that Wes had been hurt.
“That’s one of those days,” Jack says. “Like when Kennedy got shot.”
The telegram from the Secretary of the Army explained the wounds Wes received and told of plans for his treatment.
Wes spent a few months recuperating from the wounds and surgeries, being transferred among a hospital ship and other hospitals overseas and in the states before he was sent to Great Lakes Naval Center at Chicago and then home. Jack’s a little foggy on those details.
But as Jack sat on the front porch of his home in Monticello a few weeks ago, talking about those days in 1971, he remembered clearly that the family slowly came to the realization that something wasn’t right with Wes.
The wounded soldier who returned walked and talked and looked just like the funny, cut-up guy named Wes Stiverson. But he wasn’t.
“My real brother, in my opinion, died in Vietnam,” Jack says.
Jack gets choked with emotion saying the words. The smile in his eyes turns to sadness.
“I never really got my brother back,” he says. “I got a person that I cared for some 30 years … but he was not the same.
“I adapted my relationship to this new person. I got used to him being that way. But he was totally different. And that group of kids that we grew up with in the neighborhood, we were a pretty tight bunch. There were six or eight of us guys who were together all the time,” he says. “And I think – well, I know – some of the group … they didn’t understand.
“And I think it bothered Wes that people were avoiding him.”
Wes knew he wasn’t his old self. He tried to tell jokes and he tried to do the same old things he’d always done. But it didn’t work. It wasn’t natural for him.
“I think his biggest trouble,” Jack says, “was that he was looking to get back to be his old self.”
But with the brain injury, he couldn’t.
Little band of brothers
Jerry, Wes and Jack Stiverson grew up on Centennial Street in Monticello, a few blocks east of the golf course.
They were born about a year apart, and they couldn’t have been closer.
All three were in Scouts, and though they didn’t work seriously at advancing to the Eagle rank, Jack says no one ever had as much fun in scouting as the Stiverson boys.
They liked to camp, explore, and they even liked to sneak down to the golf course and take shots on a hole or two before they’d get chased away. Twenty boys lived within a two-block area, and the Stiversons had a lighted basketball court and a miniature golf course – both made by their dad, Clifford.
“Our dad took good care of us kids,” Jack says.
They played baseball in a pasture down the road.
Jerry, the oldest, knew from an early age he wanted to be a teacher. He stayed committed to that goal and ended up not only teaching, but being principal at DeLand-Weldon High School.
Wes might have had the highest IQ of the three, Jack said. But he didn’t get serious about schoolwork. He played basketball in his freshman and sophomore years, but Jack recalls Wes not being too good at it.
He wore size 16 shoes, as narrow as he could get. Jack laughs, remembering that Wes’ feet looked like he could ski on them. Wes kept his hair short and wore a purple-gold letter jacket until his junior year. Then he got a little into the hippie look.
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If Wes didn’t find success on the basketball court, he did in band. He played trombone and took pride in being a member of the Marching Sages. He loved music, and by the time he got his first car, he’d become a big Bob Dylan fan.
That’s also about the time he finally passed his big brother in height and became the tallest of the three.
Jack describes himself as the underachiever of the three. But his self-deprecating humor doesn’t begin to cover up the huge attachment and admiration he still holds for his two older brothers. Jack works construction for the Devonshire Group in Champaign and has a house in Monticello just a few streets away from where he grew up. Though the old house is gone, he still owns the lot, and it still bears the large trees and patches of flowers his mother likely used to tend to.
Jack points to a picture of Wes with their dad’s 1958 silver-and-white Chevy. He remembers that Jerry also had a 1958 Chevy that he wrecked. Jerry passed it down to Wes, who fixed it up and eventually had a wreck in it, too. Wes passed it down to Jack.
He laughs at the memory.
“It was a hand-me-down, work-on special,” he says.
Five years ago, Jerry had a fatal heart attack at age 53. The sudden loss of his oldest brother hit Jack hard. He keeps in close contact with Jerry’s widow, Carol, who still lives in Monticello, and her three sons, Christopher, Eric and Matthew and their families. Jack’s parents are dead, so that’s all that remains of his immediate family, and the bachelor holds each one dear.
Living in the hospital
Months after Wes returned home with the brain injury, it became clear he couldn’t remain at home. He began to drink heavily. He couldn’t work. Eventually his mental deterioration became worse, Jack says, and his parents couldn’t handle him.
He began as an outpatient at the Veteran’s Hospital in Danville, but within a year or so he was admitted as a full-time resident. Jack remembers that at first, Wes would sneak out of the hospital, find his way to the bus station and show up at his parents’ home at midnight. His mom took it hard when they’d have to send him back.
But in time, Jack said that Wes seemed relaxed and comfortable in the hospital. In fact, he and Jerry would joke when they visited with Wes that he was always eager to see them and what they brought him. But after a few minutes, he’d say, “OK, you can go now.”
“He would talk a little bit, but he had his little routine,”Jack says. “You know, he had to watch a show on TV at 2 o’clock or something like that, and so he wanted us to go home. It was his little world, and that’s the way it was.”
Jack took his parents to visit, and after they died, he continued visiting about once a month. He always took Wes a little treat. As the years advanced, Wes was moved into the psychiatric ward. When his mother and father died, Jack took him to each of the funerals, and also when Jerry died. Jack said that Wes didn’t show much emotion.
Then Jack lost his only surviving brother on March 30, 2005. Wes died in the middle of the night. He was 54. The Purple Heart recipient was accorded full military rites at graveside services in Monticello Cemetery. Family and some of those old friends went and stood silently as “Taps” was played and the color guard presented Jack with the folded flag.
Days later, when Jack went through his brother’s belongings from the hospital, he found a laminated copy of Jerry’s obituary. One of the nurses likely had it made for Wes, but it made Jack wonder: How much did Wes understand?
Joining comrades
Today, Memorial Day, Jack and his sister-in-law and three nephews and their wives and children are at a special service in Washington D.C., at the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall.
Jack, with the help of his nephew Matthew’s wife, Peg Stiverson, began a committed effort shortly after Wes died to get his name added to the memorial.
For the Pentagon to allow the addition, it took many letters and phone calls, the help of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and a ruling from the surgeon general that says, indeed, Wesley Stiverson died as a result of injuries he sustained during the Vietnam War.
Wes died 33 years and 11 months after the mortar shell explosion in the bunker in Vietnam, and 32 of those years he spent in the VA hospital.
A stone carver added three names to the wall earlier this month. Because of extra space allowed in each year’s list, Wes’ name will be in the section with the others who died in 1971.
Once it became official the name would be added and unveiled today, there was never any doubt that all of Jack’s remaining family would go with him to the ceremony. A similar ceremony in Springfield at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial a few weeks ago drew all the family members from Illinois, as well.
Jack says that he doesn’t think much about the politics of the war that killed his brother. There’s no doubt, he says, Wes was an involuntary soldier. But he did what was expected of him, and he deserves the honor for his service.
Jack keeps the flag from Wes’ coffin, along with several photo albums that hold the memories of his childhood with his parents and brothers. A man who’s quick to laugh, Jack’s also abundantly sentimental about that family and still fights back tears when he talks about all of them being gone.
About once a week, Jack gets in his car and drives two blocks up to Centennial Street, passing by the empty lot where his parents’ house once stood. And then he travels farther north up to State Street, past Kirby Hospital and into the cemetery.
In the easternmost part of the graveyard, on the last road toward the back, the simple white military stone stands out among the others. Jack keeps flowers there and replaces a weathered wreath with a fresher one. He planned to put a different one on for Memorial Day.
Jack stands at Wes’ grave and points out the stones of some of Monticello’s other interesting residents. He points toward Jerry’s grave, off a short distance, and on farther west, the graves of his parents.
May 29th, 2007
Last week news of a possible ‘Baldness Cure’ that could be available at some point in the future was announced. But what most people don’t realise is that there is already a cure for genetic hair loss.
London, UK (PRWEB) May 22, 2007 — On Thursday of last week Jonny Harris of the Belgravia Hair Loss Centre was interviewed by Sky News, Channel 5 and the Guardian Newspaper about the hype that had been circulating regarding discoveries in America of a gene that could possibly help to replace lost hair in bald men. Scientists have proven for the first time when testing on mice that it is possible to create entirely new follicles from which hairs can be grown, meaning it may be possible to replace hair follicles that have become dysfunctional in humans.
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Reports claim it will be 10 years before we can even begin to consider this ‘baldness cure’ becoming available, but what kind of a difference will it really make if and when it does come about?
As you will see in David Teather’s Guardian newspaper article; he explained how Jonny Harris was flinching with annoyance when he looked at a statement in an article ripped out of a newspaper. The statement read, ‘finally, a baldness cure that actually works’. Being a hair loss expert, Harris understands that this statement is highly misleading to the general hair loss sufferer as it gives the impression that there is currently no hope - something that couldn’t be further from the truth!
Something that most people don’t know is that there are in fact a number of cures for hair loss available already, although the only thing that could be disguised as a cure to ‘baldness’ at present is non-surgical hair replacement, better known as a toupee. So you may ask what the difference between hair loss and baldness is: A bald person is somebody who has lost all his or her hair (in the area that is affected by Male Pattern Hair Loss this would be the top of the head). We refer to ‘bald’ as the smooth areas of skin where hair once appeared but now appears shiny and absent of hair. However, a man or woman suffering from ‘hair loss’ can have thick and healthy locks of hair, be it for a limited amount of time! Over time his or her hair will slowly but surely become thinner and the scalp will become increasingly visible through the hair, leading to eventual baldness in the case of many men.
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So what are these ‘cures’ for hair loss, you may wonder? They are the effective treatments that can prevent most men and women from ever having to reach the stage of ‘baldness’ with the possibility of thickening up the hair if there has already been a degree of thinning. There are three proven hair loss treatments available and Harris explains that The Belgravia Centre fine tune their hair loss treatment courses for each individual case, deciding on which of these treatments, and at what strength they will be most effective depending on the specific condition and stage of hair loss each person has reached.
The Belgravia Centre report to have found about 9 out of 10 men will experience hair loss stabilisation from the use of their ‘combination’ treatment courses. ‘Combination’ refers to a combination of the proven hair loss treatments, as well as added ‘boosters’ that increase the effectiveness of the ‘primary’ treatments. The treatments are also very effective for women suffering from various forms of female hair loss.
So in 10 years time, if further research proves that a cure for baldness is possible, would it really make a difference? For the bald man this is an exciting prospect - it would ensure areas of complete baldness could one day be replaced with thick and healthy hair. But for those beginning to lose their hair, or even those who have lost a reasonable amount of hair, something can already be done. Proof of this can be found by taking a look at the Belgravia Centre’s ‘before and during treatment photo-scans’ which show the degree of hair loss stabilisation and regrowth that is achieved by many of the hair loss sufferers that seek help from the Belgravia Centre.
May 24th, 2007
Thinning hair is very common. More than 60 million Americans suffer from this condition. Although most common among men, hair loss in women is also widely known. Statistics show, more than half of men over the age of 50 suffer from hair loss or baldness. Though the percentage of baldness in women is far smaller, the emotional effects it brings are great.
There are many treatments available today for baldness and hair loss. The first step is to consult a physician and have a complete medical examination conducted. This is the only way to reveal the existing cause for the problem and treat it properly.
v There are many causes for hair loss in men and women, some include genetics, illness, malnutrition and side effects from medications. Again, the only way to determine the cause in each individual is to consult your doctor. The most common cause of baldness has been found to be genetics. Inherited DNA which is acquired from either parent plays a significant role in determining hair patterns. Other factors, such as certain shampoos or certain foods have incorrectly been deemed responsible for contributing to hair loss.
Although genetics is beyond the control of medical practitioners, effective treatments have been made available for hair loss and baldness. Of the various medications available for hair loss, two have recently been approved by the FDA. They are dutasteride and finasteride. Dutasteride, developed by Glaxo Smithkline, is the latest to be approved and is waiting to be released for the treatment of hair thinning.
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This drug was originally used as anti-antrigen for the treatment of prostrate enlargement. Finasteride was approved by the FDA in 1992 for the use of treating prostate enlargement, and then in 1997 for the treatment of male pattern hair thinning. Another common drug used for hair loss treatment among men and women is minoxidil 2% solution. This is an over the counter drug that is applied directly to the scalp. This drug was originally used to treat blood pressure, however has been found effective in treating hair loss, especially on the crown of the head.
There is a growing trend towards anti-DHT natural products. These types of hair loss products focus on slowing the effects of HHT on the hair follicle, one of the main factors in female and male pattern baldness. Apart from medications, many other methods have been used as remedies to treat hair loss. Some are acupuncture, aromatherapy and even hair transplants.
Revivogen is an anti-DHT hair loss treatment formulated by board certified Dermatologist Dr. Alex Khadavi, M.D., which attacks the root causes of hair loss in men and women.
May 21st, 2007
Pennsylvania - Scientists are suggesting that hair loss in humans may be reversible and they have helped create new hair cells on the skin of mice.
Scientists are suggesting that hair loss in humans may be reversible and they have helped create new hair cells on the skin of mice.
It was thought hair follicles, once damaged, could never be replaced.
But a University of Pennsylvania team writing in the journal Nature, says hair growth can actually be encouraged using a single gene.
A British expert said the study could prove more important in aiding development of better wound-healing techniques.
The human head comes equipped with 100,000 tiny hair follicles, from each of which grow a single hair.
These follicles are produced by the embryo in the first stages of pregnancy, and it was thought that no further replacement follicles could be produced during life.
The Pennsylvania team found that a particular gene important in wound healing, called wnt, appeared to play a role in the production of new hair follicles.
In its experiment, small sections of the outer skin layer, or epidermis, were removed from mice.
Just this act appeared to awaken stem cell activity in the area, the scientists said, which included the production of a number of hair follicles.
If the action of the wnt gene was blocked, no hair follicles were produced; but if it was boosted, then many more hair follicles were produced, with the skin layer eventually being indistinguishable from surrounding areas.
‘Remarkable powers’
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The researchers said that their findings “opened a window” for new treatments not only for baldness, but for other aspects of wound healing and regeneration.
British expert Professor Des Tobin, from the University of Bradford, England, said: “This paper provides convincing evidence that the skin has remarkable powers of regeneration, not just repair as previously known.
“It was long thought that hair follicle development, under physiological conditions, was limited to early developmental process in the embryo.
“Now this shows convincingly that under the conditions peculiar to the wound-healing environment, the highly complex hair follicle can be created anew from apparently unremarkable cells of the healing epidermis and its underlying dermis.”
He added: “The implications of this observation are many fold, but principally perhaps for what it tells us about the reprogramming power of adult stem cells, and it applications in regenerative medicine and wound healing.
May 21st, 2007
A 20-year-old Oakville man has been charged with first-degree murder after the 17-year-old victim of a hit-and-run accident died from her injuries.
The victim, Tiffany Bottenfield, died shortly before 11 p.m. Monday at Hamilton General Hospital, Niagara Regional Police say.
Police arrested Giuseppe Gandolfo Monday night. Gandolfo, who made a court appearance Tuesday and is in custody at the Niagara Detention Centre, also faces a charge of attempted murder.
The crime “is of the highest severity,” Niagara Regional Police spokesman Const. Sal Basilone said. “There isn’t a community in Canada that could withstand the loss of a 17-year-old female. Obviously, the city of Welland will mourn the loss of Tiffany Bottenfield in the coming days. She won’t be forgotten in the hearts of many.”
Police continue to search for a second suspect.
“We have a job to do to bring the suspects in relation to this matter to justice. And that’s what we’re working towards,” Basilone said.
Police say the hit and run occurred at about 1 p.m. Monday, after Bottenfield, a Centennial Secondary School student, and three male companions had an argument with two men while walking along Rosewood Avenue.
After the argument, the two men got in the SUV, which had been reported stolen, and drove towards Bottenfield and her companions, police say.
The vehicle struck two of the boys with a glancing blow and directly hit Bottenfield.
Friends and family have left flowers at the scene of the accident.
Police located the SUV abandoned in a wooded area at the end of Hilda Street, beside Jennifer Park.
Basilone said the first suspect was in custody seven hours after the incident. He was arrested in Oakville with the assistance of Halton Regional Police.
“Our major crime unit and our collision reconstruction unit working in tandem are a pretty effective force in terms of accumulating information quickly. In some cases, investigations move very quickly and this was definitely one of them,” Basilone said.
Police were also assisted by Seaway Mall security staff, who provided video footage of the suspects who had been at the mall between 9:40 and 10:22 a.m. on Monday.
Lead investigator Det.-Sgt. Brett Flynn of the NRP’s major crime unit was limited in what he could discuss about the case.
“We’re still actively investigating it,” he said. “I certainly don’t want to harm the investigation.”
Flynn said police are also aware of what the suspects were doing in the Welland area, “but we’re not going to be releasing it yet.”
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“Circumstances that brought the individuals in the stolen Lexus from Oakville to Welland are being investigated right now,” Basilone said.
Flynn said police also have information that could lead to nabbing the second suspect in the near future.
“We’re certainly hopeful in that regard,” he added.
Basilone credits the public for providing information police hope will lead to an additional arrest.
“At this point in time, there’s a lot of information coming in and we’re thankful to the public and anybody else who can provide that to us, so we can accurately and as speedily as possible bring this to a resolve,” Basilone said.
The second suspect is also believed to be from the Oakville area. He’s described as white and 17 to 20 years old. He’s about six feet tall, has a lean build and short, straight, light brown hair. On Monday, he was wearing a grey, hooded, zippered sweatshirt, a white T-shirt with the logo “G-Unit” on the front, baggy blue jeans, yellow construction-style boots and a white baseball cap.
Several area residents were quickly at Bottenfield’s side after the accident, offering whatever assistance they could.
Susan Varga, who lives across the road from the accident scene, was one of them, said her husband, Steve, who was at work at the time. He said Susan was feeling too ill following Monday’s ordeal to talk to a reporter.
Basilone said an off-duty NRP officer in the area also provided assistance.
“He provided assistance where it was possible to do so,” Basilone said. “Obviously, in an emergency situation dealing with young kids or teenagers, he acted accordingly, as any other adult citizen would.”
Living so close to area schools, Varga said he and his wife are used to students and young people passing by, “but this year has been a little bit different. There seems to be quite a few more children.” Varga said he never expected anything like this to happen. “It’s sad. Very sad.
May 16th, 2007
East Rutherford, N.J. — Dave DeBusschere, the final piece to the Knicks’ championship jigsaw years ago, would say every time the playoffs rolled around: “When they put the money down, we’ll be there.”
It was a virtual pauper’s age by the standards of today. But by most standards of playoff magnification, Monday night was a money game for the Cavaliers.
And when they put the ball down, anyway, the Cavs went down and got it.
The gritty, defensive fourth game of the second-round series went to the Cavs, 87-85, because New Jersey’s Vince Carter made the times LeBron James pounds the ball at the top of the key look like the “hit the open man” Knicks at their finest.
Carter monopolized the ball on the last possession, and Eric Snow stayed with him like just what he is, the Cavs’ best on-the-ball defender. Larry Hughes, struggling all night on offense, came over to help. Together, they made Carter the “L” in a BLT sandwich.
Hughes got a hand on the ball, and so did Snow, and it rolled free from Carter, who was under siege from both sides and behind. The ball rolled toward the sideline to his rear. Snow, Hughes and Carter dived for it in triplicate, and it went off Carter’s hand to clinch the Cavs’ victory with 1.9 seconds to play.
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One more win after this 87-85 head-banger and the Cavs will bring home the bacon, or what passes for it in Cleveland. They would then qualify for only the third conference finals in their history.
It was a chippy, nasty game, and the Cavs gave as good as they got. This, too, is something new for the franchise. The last time the Cavs were consistently good, Lenny Wilkens’ team typically showed the spine of a Portuguese man o’ war.
The memory still burns of Philadelphia’s Charles Barkley, a talented goon as a player before he became a loveable television commentator, throwing his body into Craig Ehlo’s ribs as Ehlo drove to the basket in the fifth and deciding game of a first-round series. As Ehlo writhed on the floor, in what became a textbook example of the flagrant foul rule that was instituted the next season, every Cavs teammate except Steve Kerr pondered the loss of the game as well as his manhood. Nobody did a thing except the yammering Kerr. It was an unforgivable example of wussification in a blue-collar town like Cleveland.
It is no longer the way the Cavs play basketball. As they showed last year by taking likely conference finals opponent Detroit to the limit in the second round, the Cavs not only stand for the national anthem these days. They stand up for each other, too.
May 15th, 2007
Scott Downs’s back was to the handful of reporters who had gathered around his locker within the confines of the eerily quiet Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse hoping to get his take on the latest drubbing.
With a blank expression, the Toronto relief pitcher finished dressing, yanked a grey woollen tuque over his still-damp hair, turned and marched past his inquisitors without so much as a nod.
Downs’s demeanour strongly suggested he was in no mood to talk.
What could he say, anyway?
Print Edition - Section Front
The Globe and Mail
What can anybody within the organization say about a mind-numbing losing string that has now reached eight games after the Boston Red Sox pounded the Jays 9-3 at the Rogers Centre last night, their second consecutive convincing win in as many days.
The Blue Jays, those who remained behind to talk, anyway, are all still mouthing the same clichés about digging deep and tomorrow is another day and it is still early in the season. But until they start playing with some consistency and putting a few wins up on the board, this season will become old in a hurry and then there will be nothing more to say.
“Panic is the easy way out,” general manager J.P. Ricciardi said on a postgame show for The Fan 590 radio station. “We’re going to give us some more time to watch us play.”
The question is, on an injury-ravaged team that has fallen into last place in the American League East with a record of 13-20 and is now 9½ games behind the first-place Red Sox, how many more lacklustre efforts will the Jays’ executive have to witness before initiating change?
“What’s going to happen is going to happen,” manager John Gibbons said, clearly tired about having to address questions about his future with the club. “I still like the ballclub, I’m still in charge of it.”
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Last night’s game featured two Japanese countrymen opposing one another on the mound - just the fourth time in the history of major-league baseball that has happened. But for the Blue Jays, the moment was more Lost in Space than Lost in Translation.
Behind the sublime work of rookie pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox jumped in front of the Jays early and it made for a long outing for the 21,784 fans who turned up to witness the carnage.
Matsuzaka was masterful over the seven innings he pitched, handcuffing the Jays for just one run on five hits while striking out eight along the way to improve his record to 4-2.
He easily overshadowed Tomo Ohka, who started the game for the Blue Jays and lasted just 42/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. Ohka, who also walked five batters, took the loss to fall to 2-4.
Ohka was not the only Jays pitcher to struggle. Both Downs and Josh Towers came out of the bullpen and surrendered three runs each to add to the misery.
About the only Jays highlight came off the bat of Lyle Overbay, who belted two solo home runs.
Toronto’s Alex Rios was 4-for-4, with a walk.
“I don’t question the effort or anything like that,” Gibbons said. “We’re about as low as we can go right now, no question about that.
“It’s a cruel sport, man. When you’re in the arena, it’s tough.”
As much as the Matsuzaka-Ohka matchup dominated centre stage, the continuing saga involving the tenure of Gibbons continued to smoulder.
The last time the Blue Jays had lost more than seven in a row occurred in late April and early May of 2002, when they dropped nine consecutive games. A month later, Buck Martinez was fired as the manager and replaced with Carlos Tosca.
Gibbons knows when a team continues to struggle, it is usually the manager who pays the price. “But you know there have been a lot better men than me fired, so I can’t get too consumed with that,” he said.
Ohka struggled from the beginning, walking two batters (plus a third intentionally) to help Boston grab a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Ohka threw 29 pitches in that inning, 19 for balls.
Ohka’s follies continued into the second, where the Red Sox scored twice more to move in front 3-0.
It was 6-0 for Boston after the Sox batted in the sixth inning, before the Jays finally broke through on Overbay’s first homer of the night.
May 10th, 2007
Dustin Evan Turner, 21, 718 E. 13th Ave., is accused of forcibly holding a 17-year-old girl inside his home for about four hours, according to a Bowling Green Police Department report.
The girl accuses Turner of grabbing her by her hair, throwing her against a wall, kicking, choking and hitting her from about 1 a.m. Saturday until about 4 a.m. Turner was arrested at 5:04 p.m. Saturday, according to the report.
Turner, who has denied various aspects of the allegations, is at the Warren County Regional Jail on a $10,000 bond.
A fire Sunday afternoon that caused heavy damage to a Matlock Road home remains under investigation.
Family members arrived home and discovered the fire at 1205 Matlock Road, said Chief Kevin Greathouse of the Plano Volunteer Fire Department.
The fire had been going for some time when the department arrived, he said. The biggest issue was getting through false walls and ceilings from various remodeling. Part of the wall and roof had to be removed to get to the fire.
The roof and upstairs of the home was a total loss and the fire was contained to the upstairs, Greathouse said.
No one was hurt in the fire, but a family dog inside the house could not be saved, Greathouse said.
A loss amount has not been determined because some of the home was built in the 1800s, making damage more difficult to determine, he said.
Arrest - Aaron Phillip Mooney, 19, 1132 Fairview Ave., Apt. K-5, was charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance, receiving stolen property over $300, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia at 5:52 p.m. Friday at his home.
Officers responded to a call at a nearby apartment and smelled burning marijuana coming from the open door of an apartment, later identified as being occupied by Mooney, according to a city police report.
The report said Mooney told police that he had just smoked marijuana and flushed the roach down the toilet, but some roaches were found.
During a search, police found 13.6 grams of mushrooms and a motorized cart that had been reported stolen, according to the report.
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“I forgot about those,” Mooney told officers, claiming ownership.
Mooney is in jail on a $5,000 cash bond.
Arrest - Marinda Leigh Shockley, 32, 2162 Pondsville Kedler Road, Smiths Grove, was charged with first-degree possession of a controlled substance, theft of identity, driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia, disregarding railroad flashers, operating on a suspended license and giving a peace officer a false name or address at 10:59 a.m. Sunday at Stubbins Street and Glen Lily Road.
Shockley was pulled over and a spoon with residue that Shockley told police was methamphetamine was found in her vehicle console, according to a city police report. She attempted to give the officer her mother’s name and address and her husband’s Social Security number, the report said.
She is in jail without bond.
Assault - A 26-year-old Bowling Green woman reported she was assaulted by two men about 8 p.m. Saturday at Old Morgantown Road and Collegeview Drive, according to a city police report.
The woman said one of the two men struck her with what appeared to be brass knuckles, according to the report. The two men took $10 and a pack of cigarettes from the woman.
Robbery - A 58-year-old Bowling Green man reported his home was burglarized by two people while he was in the hospital for several days, according to a city police report.
The man also stated when he confronted the two about stealing items, they forced him at gunpoint to withdraw $300 from his bank account, according to the report. When the man called police, the two threatened to kill him, so the man told the officer May 3 his 911 call was a prank. The thefts occurred between April 27 and May 3.
A total of $600 in cash and property was stolen from the man, according to the report.
May 8th, 2007