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Famous Figures Paterno & Piazza

Shea Stadium held its final regular season game yesterday afternoon. There were dozens of former Mets honored during a post-game ceremony. I remember the day Mike Piazza was signed to play for New York. The entire city was elated. I am not even a Mets fan, and I was excited. In fact, I purchased a Piazza jersey that season and I almost never buy player’s jerseys. I only own three: Paul O’Neill, Troy Aikman and Mike Piazza. One memory I have of Mike is him flying out to Bernie Williams to end the Mets 2000 World Series. Another weird moment involving Piazza and the Yankees was the famous Roger Clemens bat incident.
Better moments existed in the respected righty’s career. The reason I like Piazza is because he reminds me of an old school ballplayer. You could insinuate his incredible infatuation and love for baseball. He played with passion and always gave his best effort. When Mike was in L.A. during the early part of his career, he was considered rebellious because he dated a Playboy model, sported long hair and played the guitar. I used to have a big Sports Illustrated for Kids poster and cover photo of Mike with his guitar. Piazza will undoubtedly enter the Hall Of Fame as one of the, if not the, best offensive catchers of all time. When the Mets released Piazza, I was pleased the Oakland A’s signed him to be their DH. I thought he would make a great fit in Oakland and influence the young hitters by the Bay. I think Piazza would make an excellent hitting instructor if he chooses to coach one day.
Another Hall Of Fame Italian, Joe Paterno, is having a terrific year. This is JoPa’s 43rd year as head coach of Penn State football. The Nittany Lions are undefeated so far this season. Joe began coaching PSU in 1966. It’s amazing that Mike Piazza was born two years later and is out of the game, while Paterno is still manning the sidelines in Happy Valley.
In ninth grade, I was fortunate enough to attend a summer tennis camp on the main Penn State Campus. What an experience it was walking around the farm town. The campus is basically its own little city. It took me some time to not get myself lost. The bookstore is a mini mall, the cafeteria capacity is considerable, and the outside pool plentiful. Beaver Stadium looked luxurious from the outside. I slept in the freshman dorms but was not impressed with the sleeping arrangements. Other than the dormitory I stayed in, the campus atmosphere was incredible. They have the best homemade ice cream from the creamery right on campus. I think I made a few trips to that place during my camp downtime. It was World Cup soccer time when I visited the campus too, so everyone was talking about Alexi Laylas and Cobe Jones. I always wanted to go to Penn State as a kid and part of the reason was because JoPa was a legend and icon of mine. I didn’t follow the football team much back then but he was an interesting fellow and coach to admire. His animated field etiquette was compelling. Joe Paterno in a suit and tie coaching his talented team is an image that sticks in my mind in this era of college football.
Piazza and Paterno have probably been role models for aspiring players and coaches for generations. They will continue to be remembered as the best at what they do for years and years to come. Interestingly, Piazza was born in Pennsylvania and adored by the same residents as Paterno.

Fun with numbers:
34 years ago, #34 pitched his 3rd no hitter:

On September 28, 1974, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels pitches his third career no-hitter. Ryan’s 4-0 shutdown of the Minnesota Twins puts him in elite company. Ryan joins Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Cy Young, Larry Corcoran, and Jim Maloney as the only pitchers with three or more no-hitters. Ryan will eventually pitch seven no-hitters…

34 points for the Jets in the first quarter…

6 touchdowns for Favre, 6 turnovers for Warner

18 wins for SF Giants star, 18 straight batters retired by the Cubs in their loss to the Brewers

Congrats to Mike Mussina on his first 20-win season

Parting points:
Quiz to check out: Remember the children’s book series, Encyclopedia Brown?
http://www.kidsreads.com/funstuff/trivia/brown-triv.asp