Thursday, September 29, 2011

September 29, 2011, HockeyPrimeTime.com column on NHL dropping the ball on Wayne Simmonds-Sean Avery incident

NHL missed its chance to condemn homophobic slur Print
Columns

Written by Denis Gorman
Thursday, September 29, 2011 02:16


In the aftermath of the Sean Avery-Wayne Simmonds incident, the

NHL failed to send a message about homophobic slurs. Was the failure based on Avery's reputation?


Denis Gorman
Sean Avery stood in front of a stall inside the visitors' dressing room in the Wells Fargo Center a few minutes after the Flyers' 5-3 exhibition win over the Rangers Monday night, talking about slurs – a topic Avery is all too familiar with.


Over the course of his 10-year career, the 31-year old left wing has become infamous for his ability to infuriate opponents with verbiage.


This time, however, he was talking about Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds, who appeared to use a homophobic slur towards Avery during the game.


"Yeah," Avery said when asked by reporters if Simmonds used the word in question. "Ten years ago maybe it wasn't so much of an issue politically. It's been said for years now.


"I have no idea," was Avery's response to the question as to what could have prompted Simmonds to utter the slur.


Avery then said, "I'm not really going to comment on. Things like that, the backlash that I could receive, I don't want to hurt the team."


When asked if he wanted to see the NHL take a firm stance on homophobic insults, Avery said, "I'm not going to go there."


He needn't have worried. The league's reply was predictable.


"We have looked into the allegations relating to the possible use of a homophobic slur by a Flyers player in the Rangers/Flyers preseason game last night in Philadelphia. Since there are conflicting accounts of what transpired on the ice, we have been unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom," read the newsworthy portion of the statement accredited to Campbell.


"Specifically, Flyers Player Wayne Simmonds has expressly denied using the homophobic slur he is alleged to have said. Additionally, none of the on-ice officials close to the altercation in question heard any inappropriate slurs uttered by either of the primary antagonists," it continued. "In light of this, we are unable at this time to take any disciplinary action with respect to last night's events. To the extent we become aware of additional information conclusively establishing that an inappropriate slur was invoked, we are reserving the option to revisit the matter."

The hockey world should be proud of the NHL's response to the banana-tossing episode, but it should be equally disappointed with the Simmonds-Avery debate and its aftermath.



In short: We're passing the buck.


It is not the first time this space has criticized the NHL for its decision making. It will not be the last until there is across-the-board accountability at 47th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.


Hiring Brandan Shanahan to replace Campbell as the Czar of Discipline is a fine start.


But for all the good that Shanahan has done in his new role – our Frank Seravalli wrote a strong column Wednesday examining the man’s first real weeks on the job – the NHL disgraced itself by not taking a firm position on homophobic language.


The league's stance that it is "unable to substantiate with the necessary degree of certainty what was said and by whom," is particularly condemnable since Yahoo! Sports' NHL blog has a video of Simmonds shouting what appears to be the slur towards an unseen Ranger. Simmonds and Avery had spent the better part of the first period Monday exchanging words and punches.


Simmonds was encircled by reporters Monday night and acknowledged having a running conversation with Avery in which both said "some things" that the other "did not like."


When told that Avery reported he used the word in question, Simmonds shifted his argument to Well, If I Said Something It Is Because the Other Guy Is Sean Avery.


"He didn't think he said anything? (It's) Sean Avery. Come on, now," Simmonds said. "Who knows what comes out of his mouth?"


Following Flyers' practice Wednesday, Danny Briere backed Simmonds' Avery Cannot Be Right about This Topic Because He Is a Bad Guy reasoning.


Briere told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he found it "inappropriate" that Avery had threatened to "kill" Claude Giroux. During its broadcast, CSN aired audio (warning: not suitable for work or sensitive listeners) of Avery telling Zac Rinaldo that he did not "want to (expletive) kill Giroux," following a check from behind on Michael Sauer that caused the Ranger defenseman to suffer a sprained shoulder on the play.


Briere said he knew the Ranger "didn't mean it literally but we all know Sean Avery and how much he likes attention," while noting, "it's ironic everyone is defending Sean Avery and it's OK for him to call guys out about killing them."


That this controversy has devolved into a he said, he said, based on who employs these athletes is as unsurprising as it is dispiriting. Especially, when you consider the hockey world – HockeyPrimeTime.com included – widely praised its reaction to the idiotic banana tossing incident in London, Ontario, last week.


The hockey world should be proud of its response to that episode, but it should be equally disappointed with the Simmonds-Avery debate and its aftermath.


Sports are a microcosm of society. Would either occurrence be tolerated – or even tacitly encouraged – by corporate management in everyday life?


No, it would not.


So why did the NHL, with an opportunity to send an unmistakably clear message Tuesday, fail?


On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman


Photos by Getty Images

Last Updated on Thursday, September 29, 2011 15:58

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/columns/nhl-missed-its-chance-to-condemn-homophobic-slur

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 8:59 PM

September 29, 2011, Jose Reyes check outs early story for Metro NYC Newspaper

x


Jose Reyes checks out after early hit




DENIS GORMAN
NEW YORK

Published: September 28, 2011 7:10 p.m.
Last modified: September 28, 2011 7:19 p.m.
Be the first to comment
Print article
Text size

The atmosphere at Citi Field yesterday as Jose Reyes strode to the plate for his first at-bat was one of total appreciation.


That quickly changed after Reyes was pulled from the Mets’ 3-0 win following his bunt single to lead off the inning. As Reyes walked to the dugout — replaced by pinch runner Justin Turner — the decision was heavily booed by those in attendance and became a hot button topic on social media networks.


“We talked this morning, Jose, when he came in [and] I asked him how he wanted to go about this. I wanted to take him out at the appropriate time. He said if he got a hit his first time up, he’d like to come out,” Collins said.


Reyes’s .337 average led Ryan Braun by two one-thousandths of a point in the NL?batting race. Braun had entered last night’s game against the Pirates needing three hits to pass Reyes. No Met player had ever won a batting title.


“I heard some comments from the stands. I don’t blame them. People pay a good price to come to these games and they have to understand I ask these players to do a lot. We worked hard to get their respect and they deserve ours,” said Collins, who explained that he did not want their relationship ruined if he overruled Reyes’ decision.


Reyes is a free agent after the season. If yesterday’s game was Reyes’s last with the Mets, he goes down in the franchise’s record books with 1,300 hits in 4,453 plate appearances The four-time All-Star has one Silver Slugger award and 222 doubles, 99 triples, 370 stolen bases and 735 runs scored. Reyes ended the season with a .337 batting average, 101 runs scored, 44 RBI, 31 doubles, 16 triples and seven home runs in 124 games.


“I understand what’s going on. I’m going to be a free agent, so we’re going to see what happens. We’re going to see what’s going on,” Reyes said. “[It’s] too soon to say [if] it’s my last game. Like I always say, I appreciate all the love the fans give me. They are always going to be in my heart.”


Miguel Batista (5-2) threw his first complete game shutout since July 2006. He held the Reds to a first-inning Edgar Renteria single and Chris Heisey’s second-inning leadoff double. Nick Evans’ RBI single in the fourth was the game-winning run. Queens-native Mike Baxter slugged his first Major League home run, a two-run shot off of Edison Volquez (5-7) in the sixth.


The Mets finished the year with a 77-85 record.


Follow Denis Gorman on Twitter @DenisGorman.



More about Mets , Jose Reyes , Ryan Braun

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/982686--jose-reyes-checks-out-after-early-hit

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 8:56 PM

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

September 28, 2011, HockeyPrimeTime.com column on the Rangers, Flyers and HBO's 24/7

All Rangers-Flyers, all the time Print
Columns

Written by Denis Gorman
Monday, September 26, 2011 22:10


The Ranger-Flyer rivalry still means something. A contemporary twist is coming soon: HBO viewers will get to see unfiltered access in December, for better or worse.


Denis Gorman


PHILADELPHIA — Rangers general manager Glen Sather and Flyers owner Ed Snider stood on the platform inside Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park Monday afternoon and traded barbs.


“We are going to come to Philadelphia and we are going to win,” Sather said. “I’m sorry we (the 1984-85 and 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers) kicked the hell out of you in the Stanley Cup and we’re going to do the same thing on (Jan. 2). At the end of the year we will be carrying the Cup, just like the Yankees are going to have the World Championship.”


“When he said ‘we kicked the hell out of the two Stanley Cups’ he wasn’t talking about the Rangers,” Snider replied. “I remember kicking the hell out of the Rangers on the way to our Cups.


“Nice to see you haven’t lost your edge,” Sather deadpanned.


Yeah, the Ranger-Flyer rivalry still means something after all these years. On January 2, the two teams will be the nexus of the hockey and sports worlds at the NHL's premier regular-season event, the Winter Classic. As part of the build leading up to the game, both teams will be profiled for four weeks by HBO’s highly regarded "24/7" series.


“Taking our reality series ‘24/7’ into the world of the National Hockey League proved to be a perfect fit,” HBO Sports Executive Producer Rick Bernstein crowed in a press release. “The ‘24/7’ franchise is fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines and unrestricted access.”


What made last year’s 24/7 Penguins-Capitals series so compelling was the unvarnished look at the individuals that made up both teams. We learned that Bruce Boudreau is a profane teddy bear of a man while Marc-Andre Fleury’s impishness and quirks made for an endearing figure.


Already there is a school of thought that this year’s edition will have at least one breakout personality.


Brandon Dubinsky, Brandon Prust could be the stars for the Rangers. Chris Pronger and Jaromir Jagr, who despite their longevity as NHL stars are not household names to the public at-large, are good candidates to be focal points for the show.


“Star power always help but in the end it’s the characters, it’s the stories,” Bernstein told reporters after the press conference. “It’s what happens that you don’t expect. That and the access – that’s what makes 24/7.”


Yet for all of the show’s positives – introducing the athletes and their personalities to the public at-large, brand building for the franchises and league – there is a concern that unfettered access could potentially cast a player or coach in an unflattering light.

Tortorella also noted that he watched only one episode of last year’s series because of time contstraints and saw some things that made him cringe.


“We’ll handle it,” Rangers head coach John Tortorella said about the cameras and microphones. “There is access but we do have a little say as far as what’s going on that TV. I just want to make sure there (are) no embarrassing things, especially to the players. That does not need to be out there.


“We’re just going to go about our business,” Tortorella said. “I’m not afraid of that. I think we do it the right way. I think our organization does it the right way. I think our coaching staff does it the right way. Our focus is trying to win a hockey game. Whatever they come up with as far as the show, we’ll see where it goes.”


As for HBO’s philosophy on airing potentially sensitive footage, Bernstein said he did not envision any major issues.

For all the show's positives, there is a concern that unfettered access could potentially cast a player or coach in an unflattering light.


It makes for a tricky minefield, balancing newsworthiness against the fascinating but ultimately humiliating. But Bernstein believes HBO’s credibility and its willingness to work with its subjects should alleviate any potential trepidation on the part of the teams.


“What we have in place is editorial control but the teams, as well as the NHL, screen the show prior to air mainly to prevent the divulging of unique competitive strategies,” Bernstein said. “As you saw in last year’s show, they wanted to be real. And I can only think of one or two very minor things that they said that need to be out; very, very minor, something that hadn’t even crossed our minds to be an issue,”


“It’s never been an issue with Hard Knocks, never been an issue with this,” he said. “There’s a trust factor and we’ll always do what’s journalistically the right thing to do, but we’re smart enough to know when it may cross the line. But it never has been an issue.”


HBO had its cameras and reporters at Citizens Bank Park Monday afternoon. In three months, they will be inside the Flyers’ and Rangers’ dressing room on a 24-7 basis for four weeks.


On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 16:49

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/columns/all-rangers-flyers-all-the-time

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 11:19 AM

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

September 27, 2011, NHL Winter Classic announcement news story for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Citizens Bank Park chosen as Winter Classic site Print
Headlines

Written by Denis Gorman
Monday, September 26, 2011 21:03
Citizens Bank Park


Rangers, Flyers, Gary Bettman and others gather at the Phillies' park to formally introduce the site of the 2012 Winter Classic.


PHILADELPHIA — The worst-kept secret in hockey was finally made public Monday afternoon.


The New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers will play in the Winter Classic on the afternoon of Jan. 2, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced in a press conference at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. The Philadelphia Philles' home park will host the game.


This will be the first Winter Classic appearance for the Rangers. The Flyers were selected to play in the league’s marquee regular-season game once, against the Bruins at Fenway Park in 2010.


Bettman was joined by NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr, Bridgestone Vice President for Consumer Marketing Phil Pasci, HBO Sports Executive Producer Rick Bernstein, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Phillies President Dave Montgomery.


The Flyers were represented by owner Ed Snider, team president Peter Luukko, head coach Peter Laviolette, captain Chris Pronger and teammates Matt Carle, Scott Hartnell and James Van Riemsdyk. General Manager Glen Sather, head coach John Tortorella, captain Ryan Callahan and teammates Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik were in attendance for the Rangers. Former Flyers forward and CSN broadcaster Keith Jones emceed the press conference.


“This is the fifth time that I’ve had the pleasure of making one of these announcements and it’s still a very special feeling,” Bettman said. “We look forward to a few months ahead where it will be 40 to 50 degrees colder, clouds and snow.


“There will be a hockey rink on this field. There will be two very excited teams playing in front of a sellout crowd.”


The game will be broadcast by NBC in the United States, and CBC and RDS in Canada. As part of the game, HBO will air its ‘24/7’ four-part series.


“Taking our reality series ‘24/7’ into the world of the National Hockey League proved to be a perfect fit," Bernstein said in a statement. "The ‘24/7’ franchise is fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines and unrestricted access. Clearly, we had all those ingredients last December and the New York-Philadelphia rivalry should spark another terrific series.”


Luukko announced that its AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, will play the Hershey Bears at Citizens Bank Park on Jan. 6. He said that there will be public skating and the possibility exists of college and high school games. There will also be a Rangers-Flyers Alumni game on New Year’s Eve.


The Atlantic Division rivals have shared a storied rivalry dating back to Dave Schultz’s decimation of Dale Rolfe in Game 7 of the 1974 semifinals. The Rangers lead the regular season series 110-107-37-7, while the Flyers have won six of the 10 playoff series.


Sather and Snider ratcheted up the rivalry with some good-natured ribbing.


“We are going to come to Philadelphia and we are going to win,” Sather said. “I’m sorry we (the 1984-85 and 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers) kicked the hell out of you in the Stanley Cup and we’re going to do the same thing on (Jan. 2) and at the end of the year we will be carrying the Cup, just like the Yankees are going to have the World Championship.”


“When he said ‘we kicked the hell out of the two Stanley Cups’ he wasn’t talking about the Rangers,” retorted Snider. “I remember kicking the hell out of the Rangers on the way to our Cups.”


On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Monday, September 26, 2011 22:30

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/headlines/citizens-bank-park-chosen-as-winter-classic-site

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 4:10 PM

Sunday, September 25, 2011

September 25, 2011, HockeyPrimeTime.com column on Wayne Simmonds incident


Simmonds rises above hateful incident Print
Columns

Written by Denis Gorman
Saturday, September 24, 2011 14:01


Race is an uncomfortable subject but as the Wayne Simmonds incident shows it still exists and that education is important.


Denis Gorman
There is a derisive term for newspaper sports departments.


They are called The Toy Department.


It is understandable, really. Instead of reporting the news about politics, crime, business and society, sports sections report on athletes and games and trades.


Sports are viewed as an entertaining diversion from the daily rigors of life.


Except that it is not.


Sports are part of the fabric of our culture and our culture is part of the fabric of sports. Within the last year there have been countless stories written about the NFL and NBA lockouts (business), the New York Islanders quest for a new arena (politics) and current and former athletes and executives being arrested (crime).


The reporting on societal aspects in sports sections equal those in other sections of the newspaper save for one - race.


Race lurks uncomfortably beneath the surface and rarely is discussed because those discussions are uncomfortable and in a talk-radio world, unintelligent. There are times when race bulls its way into the consciousness of sports and Thursday night in London, Ontario, at the John Labatt Centre, it raised its head again.


As Wayne Simmonds bore down on Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jordan Pearce in a shootout, an anonymous coward committed the despicable act of throwing a banana towards the Philadelphia Flyer, who is black. It was the second time Simmonds had a banana thrown at him in the game.


The racial overtones are as obvious as they are vile.


After a 4-3 shootout loss to Detroit, the Philadelphia right wing rose above when asked about the unidentified fan's premeditated acts.


"I caught it from the side of my eye," Simmonds told the Philadelphia Daily News "It was a banana. Hopefully, that wasn't directed towards me being black because if it was, that's just somebody being ignorant.


"When you're a black man playing in a predominantly white man's sport, you've got to come to expect things like that. Over the past 23 years of my life, I've come to expect some things like that. But I'm older and more mature now, I kind of just left things roll off [my back]. I try not to think about stuff like that"


Simmonds did score on the one-on-one against Pearce and the goal with 53 seconds left in the third period tied the game 3-3.


"You can't stop playing just because something is being thrown at you," said Simmonds, who was acquired from Los Angeles in the blockbuster Mike Richards' deal. "Besides, my initial reaction was that I would get to shoot again if I didn't score. I didn't even need that."


The incident should not be a referendum on London, the 7,426 fans who enjoyed two-and-half hours of professional hockey, the National Hockey League and its fans. But as London Mayor Joe Fontana and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman acknowledged in statements the municipality and the league's fanbase has been tainted as by a coward's deed.


"It was a stupid and mindless act by one individual," Fontana's statement read. "It reflects badly on our community. London is a diverse and welcoming city and we like it that way."


"We have millions of great fans who show tremendous respect for our players and for the game," said Bettman's statement, released Friday morning. "The obviously stupid and ignorant action by one individual is in no way representative of our fans or the people of London, Ontario."


The answer is and has always been education. We must continue to teach that the pigmentation of one's skin does not define their person.

The public stances taken by Fontana and Bettman are without question.


But there is a bigger societal question that must be asked. Why would one fan think to commit such a hideous action?


There has always been racism in our society. However, in a Tea Party world and Fox News world, it seems as if we have become meaner and more willing to utter outrageous words than in the past. Audience members at two GOP Presidential debates cheered Texas' death penalty statistics and the idea of an uninsured 30-year old dying because they could not afford a health care plan.


At another GOP Presidential debate Thursday night, those in attendance booed a gay solider for having the temerity in 2011 to say he was gay before asking the Republican hopefuls if they would reinstate the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.


So how do we raise our level of discourse?


It is not, as one unidentified Flyer told the newspaper, by kicking "that fan's ass." As the Ron Artest incident in the Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004 taught the athlete that charges into the spectator seating to confront an abusive fan will be condemned while the loathsome action that preceded it will become an afterthought.


Rather, the answer is and has always been education. We must continue to teach that the pigmentation of one's skin does not define their person. Thursday night, Simmonds' character showed an honorable man while the fan proved pathetic.


Certainly, there will be those who will feel compelled to commit acts like those in Detroit and London no matter the time teachers spent attempting to educate. So they must be held accountable for their actions by explaining their actions to their targets and society at large.


What would the fan in London say to Simmonds if the two met face-to-face? How would the fan respond if forced to answer questions from the public regarding his actions and why he committed them? How would he react to their reaction to his words?


We may never know and that is a shame.


Many in society argue the philosophy of ignoring the ignorant; to let them spew their inanity while the majority goes about our daily lives. In a Utopian world, the ignorant would eventually tire of the sound of their voice.


It is an interesting theory except the world is not and never has been Utopian.


Instead, the task of reporting and exposing the kind of ignorance and hate falls to society as a whole and, specifically, journalists.


Even to those in the Toy Department.


You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/news/columns/simmonds-rises-above-hateful-incident

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 10:30 PM

September 25, 2011, Roger Maris Day celebration feature for Fargo Forum

Click here to find out more!
Click here to find out more!
1 1
print article Print e-mail article E-mail
Published September 25, 2011, 12:07 AM


Yankees honor Roger Maris' 1961 season


NEW YORK – A referendum on the owner of Major League Baseball’s single-season home run record and Roger Maris’ Hall of Fame worthiness was an overriding topic of discussion on the day that the New York Yankees honored a man behind one of the organization’s greatest individual years.

By: Denis Gorman, Special to The Forum, INFORUM

  • Yankees honor Maris' '61 season
    • image
    New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter (2) presents Roger Maris’ bat to his sons, from left, Roger Jr., Kevin, Randy and Richard before the Yankees’ baseball game against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York. Associated Press

More...


NEW YORK – A referendum on the owner of Major League Baseball’s single-season home run record and Roger Maris’ Hall of Fame worthiness was an overriding topic of discussion on the day that the New York Yankees honored a man behind one of the organization’s greatest individual years.


“As far as the record is concerned, the family feels that it is his record. That is just how we feel,” Roger Maris Jr. said about his father’s Hall of Fame credentials in a pregame news conference at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were celebrating the 50th anniversary of Maris’ 61 home runs in 1961. He broke the mark on Oct. 1, 1961.


“As far as the Hall of Fame is concerned, we do think he should be in the Hall of Fame.”


Roger Maris Jr. threw out the first pitch before Saturday afternoon’s Red Sox-Yankees game. Derek Jeter presented Maris’ bat to the Maris family on the field before the game. The bat had been loaned, along with the 61st home run ball, by the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Yankees also had the number 61 painted on the grass.


The pregame ceremony had been scheduled for Friday night’s Red Sox-Yankees game, but the celebration and the game were postponed due to torrential rain.


The Maris family was represented by his wife, Pat, daughters Susan and Sandra, sons Roger Jr., Kevin, Randy and Richard and grandchildren. Teammates Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Bob Cerv were on hand, along with Frank Prudenti, a bat boy for that team; Mickey Mantle’s sons David and Danny; and Sal Durante, who caught Maris’ 61st home run.


Before the on-field ceremony, the group unveiled a tour bus that commemorated Maris with a mural on the front before taking a private tour of the Yankees Museum and Monument Park.


“I think he’d be excited,” Ford said when asked to speculate how Maris would react to a day in his honor at Yankee Stadium.


Maris authored one of the legendary single seasons in the Yankees’ storied history. He won the second of his two American League MVP awards following a year in which he broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home-run record, led the American League in runs scored (132), runs batted in (141) and played in 161 games. The Yankees would go on to win the 20th of the franchise’s 27 World Series championships, beating the Cincinnati Reds in five games. In the five-game series, Maris walked four times, scored four runs, drove in two runs and homered.


“He was a good ballplayer,” Cerv said. “No one played outfield like (Maris did). (He) made it lots easier for Mantle, too, because he could cheat over to left-center field.”


Maris’ accomplishments that year have grown in stature as time has passed. In 1961, though, the then 26-year-old’s quest was detested by a portion of Yankee fans and media members because he was challenging two Yankees icons, Ruth and Mantle.


Ruth’s 60 home runs in 1927 set the standard for sluggers. Mantle finished the 1961 season with 54 home runs, 128 RBIs and 131 runs scored in 153 games before being hospitalized in September due to a hip infection.


“He had a great time when he was between the lines, on the field with the guys,” Randy Maris said of his father. “He enjoyed the camaraderie. I think he enjoyed it. It’s just that he enjoyed it between the lines.”


Roger Maris Jr. and Randy Maris acknowledged that there had been a rift between their father and the organization due to the way it had treated him in 1961 and after he broke his hand during the 1965 season. The late George Steinbrenner convinced Maris to return to Yankee Stadium in 1978 so he and Mantle could raise the 1977 world championship banner. The Yankees retired Maris’ No. 9 in 1984.


“I think that was the thing with the old regime Yankees; they didn’t protect him too much with the press, and the press turned a lot of fans against him, and he resented that a little bit,” Randy Maris said. “When Mr. Steinbrenner took over and he ended up retiring my dad’s number, that was a great thing. My dad was damn proud to be a Yankee.”


Tags: , ,


http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/335173/group/Sports/

posted by Denis P. Gorman at 12:05 PM