For the Padres, Troy Glaus is the one who got away.
Long before he became a perennial power source for the Angels, he could have signed with San Diego. He opted to play college ball instead.
This is notable because Glaus has absolutely worn out Padres pitching during his career, batting .347 with nine homers in 124 at bats. His three-run blast Sunday was the pivotal moment in the Cards’ 9-5 victory.
“Consider it more salt in a wound that opened in the summer of 1994, when then-Padres Scouting Director Kevin Towers invested a second-round draft pick in Glaus, only to lose him to UCLA,” wrote Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Angels drafted him out of UCLA (where he broke Mark McGwire’s single-season Pac 10 home run record) with the third overall pick in the 1997 draft. Within a year, Glaus reached the big leagues.
Padres manager Bud Black was pitching coach in Anaheim when Glaus earned MVP honors in the 2002 World Series. “Very talented player,” Black told the Union-Tribune. “A very good player.”
PROGRESS FOR MLS, AT LAST
When West Ham United of the English Premier League visited Columbus for a friendly against the Crew, a massive fan brawl ensued.
Who says Americans don’t love soccer?
WHAT INDY CAR RACING HAS COME TO
Danica Patrick is not happy with fellow driver Milka Duno, as you can see here:
You can read the whole story here.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while wondering what the Cards will do with Jason Isringhausen for the rest of this season:
Upon further review, do the Padres regret walking the bases full for Aaron Miles, then defending him at Little League depth?
Where would the Cards be without Kyle McClellan shoring up the bullpen?
Wouldn’t this be a great time for John Mozeliak to trade one of his surplus outfielders for a veteran reliever?
CHAMPION OF WEEK
Up in Chicago, Matt Guy won the Soldier Field Cornhole Classic in both the singles and doubles events. He earned $900 for his deft bean bag tossing.
Tipsheet understands that Guy is known as “the Tiger Woods of bags.” His family must be proud.
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com, on Greg Norman’s British Open bid: “Norman’s career always has been as transparent as plate glass. His successes, but especially his failures, were available in agonizing detail. But this week, and this latest blown lead, wasn’t one of those failures. It wasn’t the same because Norman isn’t the same. His new wife, Chris Evert, followed him for the entire 18 holes. You could see her in the crowds — wearing a black leather jacket and light blue pants. She held one of those goofy-looking periscope boxes to see over the crowds. To finish third (along with a $500,000-plus paycheck) was like a bonus piece of wedding cake.”
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News: “Somebody sort of needs to explain to Phil Mickelson that he’s not getting any younger. And ask him just how many more majors HE thinks he’s going to win after he turns 40.”
Gwen Knapp, San Francisco Chronicle, on Michelle Wie’s disqualification: “Maybe the paperwork shouldn’t be so sacred. Perhaps the game would benefit from treating clerical errors as something less than capital offenses. Traditions always can use obsolescence inspections. But this isn’t how Wie was supposed to revolutionize golf. She was going to rewrite record books, not rules. At 18, she still has plenty of time. What she doesn’t have is the rigor of a great golfer. She chose a sport that treats imprecision ruthlessly, on the course as well as on paper.”
Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoSports.com, on the Bears quarterback competition between Rex Grossman and Rex Orton: “You watch, every detail of every play, every pass, every drop, every day will be reported and then a decision will be made by (Lovie) Smith and (Jerry) Angelo, two guys who couldn’t find a quarterback in Gisele Bündchen’s apartment.”
TEAMMATE OF WEEK
Brett Favre’s unretirement has created quite the soap opera in Green Bay and beyond. But the Packers icon sucked it up, came back to Wisconsin and attended the Packers Hall of Fame ceremony to introduce honoree Frank Winters.
To do so, he had to walk directly into a public firestorm.
“There’s a lot of people probably, around the NFL and the United States probably thinking Brett wouldn’t show up today,” Winters said, according to the Associated Press. “But I knew deep down inside he would, and he told me he would be here, and it’s a great honor.”
Favre spoke briefly, said all the right things about Green Bay and then high-tailed it out of there.
“That’s the thing about Green Bay,” Favre said. “It’s a special place. There’s a lot of tradition. You think of the Packers, you think of all these great names, and to be a part of that — and I know Frank feels honored — is a special thing. I’m thankful that he asked me to be here.”
MEGAPHONE
“They’re fans, and they have the right to do whatever they want. That’s part of the game. Last year, that made me pay more attention to my job. I don’t have a problem with fans anymore.”
Cubs hurler Carlos Zambrano, on dealing with boos.