Save by Wakefield

[GaryMrMets]

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/9412208.htm

Posted on Mon, Aug. 16, 2004

Save by Wakefield

IN BASEBALL TERMINOLOGY, a player who "puts out a fire" is a relief pitcher.

Thursday night, Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield was the one putting out the fire - literally.

While walking his mother to her car at his home in Hingham, Mass., Wakefield heard a smoke alarm blaring from a nearby house that was under construction.

Wakefield quickly called the fire department, which made it in time to douse the flames and probably save the house.

"We love people like that who step up and do good things," said Capt. Francis Krause.

The Red Sox hope Wakefield steps up for them. He has just eight wins this season in 21 starts.

Who, me?

At the pre-Olympic training camp at a seaside resort in Crete, many U.S. track and field athletes, including Marion Jones, have been subjected to out-of-competition drug tests.

This isn't unusual, and athletes are used to the unannounced knock on the door by the man/woman with the test bottle.

Breaux Greer, a javelin thrower and chief clown among the team, decided to have some fun with the testers at breakfast the other day.

Breaux wore a shirt that read, in big letters, "No, I don't take steroids, but thanks for asking."

If you can't have fun in life, you're in trouble.

Huh?

A nineteen-point loss? To Puerto Rico?

Allowing Carlos Arroyo, of the Utah Jazz, to score 24 points and dish seven assists?

That's just what happened to the U.S. men's b-ball team yesterday.

Let's go, Larry. Time to start teaching these guys to play the right way.