Names in the game
NEW YORK (AP) – Shaquille O’Neal wants to fight childhood obesity by encouraging more exercise and better eating habits. “I will get the message out to kids, parents, schools and other guiding forces in kids’ lives and help educate them about living a healthier lifestyle,” O’Neal said.
The Miami Heat standout is the spokesman for CytoSport’s Mighty Milk, a nutritional drink that comes in various flavors.
The 7-foot-1 center said when he was growing up, there weren’t so many computer and video games.
“We were more active,” O’Neal said. “We didn’t have jumbo meals, the super-sized sandwiches or the amount of candy and chips that are available today. We need to educate parents and teachers so they make the correct purchasing decisions.”
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ST. LOUIS (AP) – When Adam Wainwright struck out Detroit’s Brandon Inge to win the World Series for the St. Louis Cardinals, he wanted the baseball.
He thought he had a deal with catcher Yadier Molina. But Molina kept the ball and doesn’t plan to give it up. The ball remains at his home office in Puerto Rico.
“He was trying to get that ball from me, I know,” Molina told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Tuesday’s edition. “He deserves it. He does. But that’s the one thing I have from a long season. I hit .216. It was a tough year. I didn’t earn much else, but I have that ball. That’s my reward.”
The dispute is a playful one, unlike a disagreement over the 2004 World Series ball that led to a lawsuit.
When the Boston Red Sox beat the Cardinals in 2004, ending an 86-year championship drought, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz kept the ball he caught when Edgar Renteria grounded out to end the game. He put it in a safe-deposit box, calling it his “retirement fund.”
That led to a disagreement with the Red Sox over ownership of the ball. The team sued. Nearly a year later, Mientkiewicz agreed to lend it to the Hall of Fame.
This offseason, Wainwright approached Molina, who led all players with 19 hits in the playoffs. Molina said he would give Wainwright the ball when the players received their championship rings.
Will he follow through? “I don’t think so,” Molina said.
Said Wainwright: “Hopefully, he’ll change his mind. The final three outs of a World Series – how often do you get to do that in your career? But then, who’s to say we would have gotten to that point had he not hit the home run against the Mets in the (NLCS) or if he doesn’t (bat) like four thousand in the World Series? He probably does deserve it.”
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DENVER (AP) – The owner of the Daytona International Speedway in Florida said Tuesday it is looking into building a 75,000-seat racetrack near Denver International Airport.
International Speedway Corp. said its subsidiary, Rocky Mountain Speedway Corp., has two sites under consideration in Adams County east of Denver.
Company officials said they were looking into whether a public-private partnership could be formed to build a speedway.
“We’ve believed for some time that the greater Denver market is a logical place for racing to have a major presence due to its substantial fan base and overall connection to professional sports,” Kathy Milthorpe, ISC managing director, said in a release.
International Speedway owns or operates 13 racetracks, including Daytona, home of NASCAR’s Daytona 500, which starts Sunday. Its other holdings include an 82,000-seat facility in Kansas City, Kan., and a 76,000-seat facility in Phoenix.
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LONDON (AP) – Richard Budgett is the new chief medical officer for the 2012 London Olympics.
Budgett, who will be responsible for overseeing anti-doping and medical services at the games, is the chairman of the British Olympic Association’s medical committee. He will start in his new role in March, the London Organizing Committee said Tuesday.
“London 2012 has been a wonderful stimulus for all types of health-related activity, and I look forward to building on the relationships we already have to deliver excellent health care with a strong anti-doping program and ensure a safe and healthy games,” Budgett said.
Doping tests will be carried out at test events and during the Olympics in association with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee.
Medical services will be provided for athletes, Olympic officials, media and spectators at all venues and the Olympic village.
Budgett won a gold medal in rowing at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and has attended eight Olympics as a doctor – the last six as the chief medical officer for the British team.