Die Macht » between two veteran goaltenders in K

CHICAGO -- Rich Buhrke has been chasing down baseballs outside Wrigley Field since 1959. He used to tell the rest of us ballhawks when we left for jobs far from Chicago that one day wed find our way back to the corner of Waveland and Kenmore.In my case, he was absolutely right.The first World Series home game for the Cubs in 71 years turned into a mini-reunion, with my old pals returning from all around the country to the famous intersection in Wrigleyville.And I was among them, making the trip from Tampa, Florida, and getting to the Friendly Confines six hours before the first pitch of Game 3 on Friday night.Moments later I was joined by Andy Mielke, now of Louisville, Kentucky.I didnt know what to expect, Buhrke said. Theyre all back.We shared stories of long-ago games and long home runs, enjoyed in lawn chairs under a shade tree now void of its leaves. Overgrown kids on summer afternoons, waiting for souvenirs to fall from the sky.It all started for me when I was 13 and I caught a Bill Madlock batting practice home run in 1974 while standing behind the bleachers in left field.I was hooked.In the 1980s, the Cubs would even let us inside to shag balls for the likes of Bill Buckner, Leon Durham and Larry Bowa on off-day workouts.Once, I got to pitch BP to fellow ballhawks from the mound. That was a few years after my days playing at Lane Tech, the same high school that produced Phil Cavarretta, a Cubs star in the 1945 World Series.Fast forward to Friday, and it was time to get down to the business at hand, competing for batting practice balls before going for the Gold. Thats the gold in the ink used on the World Series game balls.Thats what its all about, said Gary Moe Mullins, who has caught 245 game homers that have flown out of Wrigley since 1958.With the flags of 1969 Cubs stars Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and Fergie Jenkins flapping straight out from the top of the left field foul pole, a sometimes-bruising batting practice ensued.The usual gathering of a dozen swelled into the hundreds. With each of the 12 balls that sailed out of the yard in our direction, the mixture of fans waiting to get in and those without tickets just wanting to be part of the atmosphere collided on the closed-off street.That was crazy, Buhrke said.Mullins and Buhrke came up empty, but Mielke made a sure-handed grab of a ball that bounced off the bleachers and shot across the pavement.Its my closure, said Mielke, who last was a regular in 2005. Its like a boxer coming back for one more fight, and winning.Mielke texted a photo of the prize to his wife.I hadnt been to Wrigley Field since I saw two games against the now-defunct Montreal Expos about a dozen years ago.So, I borrowed a glove from Mullins, and it turned out be a special one. It was signed by Banks.I never got a chance to use it, though. Mostly, I preferred to watch the show and talk with the guys.Space got even tighter as more fans set up shop right before and after the first pitch. They sat on the curb, laid on blankets or just stood in small groups.A vendor sold Gatorade, with prices listed as $2 for Cubs fans, $3 for Indians fans and no sales for Chicago White Sox fans. Around a half-dozen members of Mullins family came for the game, supplied with pizza slices.Cool, Moe said.It was a street carnival just outside a World Series game we could only hear on a booming radio set up in the middle of Kenmore Avenue, just a long toss from Waveland.Still, all those long balls we were expecting in Game 3 never materialized. Even with a strong wind blowing out of Wrigley, the Cubs lost 1-0 to Cleveland.Bizarre, said Buhrke, who is hoping to catch his 180th game homer this weekend.There was a collective groan when the Cubs made the final out. The long-awaited celebration quickly faded as disappointed fans swiftly headed for home with Chicago down 2-1 in the Series.They say the Cubs have been cursed since their last World Series appearance in 1945. As we all know, they havent won the thing since 1908.I never put much stock in all that talk about curses.But growing up a Cubs fan, maybe its poetic that the biggest home run ball I ever caught was one that broke hearts. It was the grand slam Will Clark hit for the Giants off Greg Maddux in Game 1 of the 1989 NL Championship Series.I wish I couldve convinced Major League Baseball to take the four runs off the scoreboard because I would have thrown it back.After keeping the ball for 15 years, I auctioned it for charity.A fitting end to a previous World Series hope dashed.Air Max 720 Scontate . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Air Max 270 Offerta . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scontate-air-max-95-outlet-c3066.html . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Air Max 720 Prezzo Basso . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. Air Max 95 Outlet Italia . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.The Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars both seek better performances in their game Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas, but do so for different reasons.Edmonton (9-8-1) lost 4-2 to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Staples Center, and Oilers coach Todd McLellan kept his focus simple during a Friday morning practice in Anaheim prior to his team hopping a plane for Dallas.We worked on fundamental skill development, plays in and around the net, McLellan said. I thought it was good for our group. Hopefully it carries forward into a game situation.McLellan said the Oilers could get injured forward Matt Hendricks (lower body) back for Saturdays game and that injured defenseman Kris Russell (undisclosed), a former Star, could also play in Dallas this weekend.Should Edmonton, who is 5-4-1 on the road, get both Hendricks and Russell back, the man behind the Edmonton bench has no doubt about what sort of jolt of positive energy that could give his club.It should provide an energy boost, it should give us a different look and it should create a competitive environment within the team right now for ice time, McLellan said.Dallas (7-6-5) edged the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Thursday at home, but all three Stars goals came in the first period, and coach Lindy Ruff was none too pleased about how his team performed over the games final 40 minutes.We got smoked in chances, we got smoked in zone time, Ruff said of Thursdays win after practice on Friday. I said to the team there was three things I liked. I liked our goaltending, I liked our discipline inside the game when it came to the differential in penalties, and I liked the little man that came in the dressing room after the game that the players spent some time with. That for me brought a smile to my face.The Staars got injured center Cody Eakin, who had yet to play this season due to a knee injury sustained in preseason, back on the ice against Colorado.ddddddddddddAnd on Saturday, it appears veteran forward Patrick Sharp could return to the lineup for the first time since sustaining a concussion in an October game against the Kings.Yeah, it feels great. Joined the team last week on the road. I think that was good for me, being out for a couple weeks to be around the team and get a few practices in, Sharp said after practice on Friday. Body feels great, I feel like Im past the injury, I feel like Im in great shape and ready to get back in there when the coach wants.Ruff now has the luxury of picking between two veteran goaltenders in Kari Lehtonen, who was strong in Thursdays win and the man reason Dallas won, and Antti Niemi, who played equally well in a 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.Lehtonen was first off the ice at practice on Friday, but that might not mean anything.Still, Ruffs focus isnt on which netminder hell go with on Saturday; its more centered around bigger-picture sort of things.I think that my focus right now is to get all areas of our team going well. Ruff said. We got to get firing on all cylinders. Thats our top-end forwards, got to get them playing well and producing. Theyre playing well defensively and right now the goaltendings been going good, our special teams has gone in the right direction, four or last five on the penalty kill side have been clean and weve pushed the differential in our favor. Now its time to build a little momentum.Dallas will be playing game three of a four-game homestand. ' ' '