22 July, 2004


Ready for some Jeopardy?

     What ECAC umpire has returned to the Cape Cod League this week? Which Upper East Side (that's New York City) former debutante turned rock and roller's Pontiac Firebird with Florida plate BIG 6 turned 300,000 official miles this spring? And what author is closing in on finishing a novel entitled "Kill (with the 'l's crossed out and 's's superimposed) The Umpire"?


Name this umpire.
File photo

     They're all one and the same - Perry Barber, of course, who will be at first base for the all-star game at Orleans July 24, among other games through July 28. Barber also umpired some major league spring training games in Florida last winter. 

Imagine, 78 miles is 22 short of finish line 
     Osterville's Pete Stringer ran into another 2004 disappointment last weekend when hernia problems forced him to drop out of the Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Race in Woodstock, Vt. after 78 miles. 
     The 62-year-old former Barnstable High School athlete, who graduated from marathons to ultra-marathons a few years back, also had to withdraw from a Tennessee ultra-marathon earlier this year at the last minute. Needless to say, he was disappointed. "I was on target for 22 hours [the winner clocked just under 15 hours]. 
     "But Jimbo [14-year-old Jimbo Canon of Centerville, to whom he's a Big Brother] joined me twice and ran three miles and five miles. He was going to finish with me, but ..." 

Hamilton's win was for all of us ... 
     How nice was it to see 38-year-old Todd Hamilton win the British Open? 
     As much as it hurt to see Ernie Els denied again, finishing second in a major for the umpteenth time and being in the hunt on the last day of a major for the third time this season, Hamilton's unexpected victory exhilarated "average" golfers everywhere. 
     Who among us couldn't relate to the relative short length of his drives? 
     What a lesson. It took him eight tries to make the PGA Tour, but he kept trying. 
     So don't give up. Make a plan to reach your goal, and follow through. It worked for Todd. 

... but pity the poor Red Sox fans 
     Why? Because they have to put up with my favorite shirker, none other than Manny Ramirez. 
     Give Todd Hamilton Ramirez' talent and he'd have Tiger Woods looking for his first major. 
     What, me play the last game before the All-Star game? No way. 
     Ramirez leads in just about every individual batting category there is, but he's yet to learn the meaning of the word "team." 
     What a shame! What a waste! 

He's Bent on reclaiming title 
     George Bent has not been used to losing events in the New England Triathlon Tour. The Centerville resident has won a dozen of the Hyannis and Falmouth races over the last several years, but was edged in last month's Hyannis I Sprint Triathlon by Dedham's Tony Delogne. 
     The 39-year-old Cape Cod Community College math professor has been training hard and hopes to get back on the winning track Saturday in the Falmouth Sprint Triathlon - one-third mile swim, 9-miles on the bike and a 1.3-mile run to the finish line. 
     Don't give up, by George! 


By Don Sherlock
dsherloc@cnc.com