Fan News

I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but as I have gotten older, my love of sports has diminished.

Not enough to make me not obsessed or anything, but it’s easy for some interest to wane due to those things called “responsibilities." I am also now older than many of the players and it’s kind of strange to worship those so much younger than you.

Baseball is a different story, though.

We’re starting to get spoiled as sports fans. Sports fans with jobs, that is. The emergence of rich, online media from mainstream sports entities have made the enjoyment of athletics away from the television a real treat which of course, means more time wasted on the company’s dime.

Just last night, 22-year-old Nick Adenhart pitched a gem for the Angels against the Oakland Athletics.

In six innings, Adenhart gave up seven hits and three walks, holding the A's scoreless through those six innings. The rookie also struck out five batters.

Although the Angels eventually lost that game, Adenhart handed over the lead to the bullpen, who eventually blew the game.

Just this morning, the Angels up-and-coming pitcher died.

Adenhart, a passenger in a silver Mitsubishi Eclipse, was killed as a result of a hit-and-run car accident.

I've hit a little bit of a lull—the writing bug has stopped biting so incessantly.

When that happens, I find it's usually best to return to the things you really love and hope that sparks things back up a bit.  For me, that means the San Francisco Giants.  Luckily for me, there's a subject that fits nicely right into the inaugural week of the Major League Baseball season.

Following the tragic death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart in a hit-and-run accident early Thursday morning in Fullerton, the Angels and Athletics have postponed tonight’s scheduled finale of the team’s four-game series.

Adenhart and two others were killed when their silver Mitsubishi Eclipse was struck by a minivan at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street at about 12:30 a.m.

With the 8-5 win over the Indians last night, the Texas Rangers are off to their first 2-0 start since to 2000 season.

Just like Opening Day, the Rangers' offense put four runs on the board in the second inning.  Nelson Cruz led off the inning with his first home run of the season, a shot to left-center field. 

After a David Murphy fly out, Chris Davis picked up his first hit of the season, singling to the opposite field.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a double to right field, moving Davis to third. 

THE RESULT: The tying and go-ahead runs were on base with one out in the top of the ninth, but Florida Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom buckled down and retired Josh Willingham and Austin Kearns to preserve a 6-4 win and three game sweep of the Washington Nationals (0-3).

The Nationals finally had a starting pitcher get past the third inning, as Daniel Cabrera tried to play stopper for the young Nats. But his promising start fell apart in the fifth inning, as the Marlins pushed four across against the former Baltimore Oriole making his National League debut.

Being a lifelong fan of the California Angels baseball team [now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim] has never been easy.

For most of my childhood, the team was a struggling second division team. With the exception of 1967, when they somehow managed to win 84 games, seasons above the .500 mark were few and far between.

And then, in 2002, they managed to pull off the miracle: The Angels were crowned World Champions. It was as if they had finally buried a curse that seemed to plague their very existence, both on and off the field.

Last night I watched the A's against the Angels. The Angels pitcher, Nick Adenhart, was great. He didn't allow the A's a run in six innings of work (although the A's came back and won).

This morning I turned to one of my favorite sports websites to find that the Adenhart and two others in the car were killed last night when a minivan ran a red light and killed him instantly.

With the 2009 Regular Season well underway, the Philadelphia Phillies look to rebound after losing their first home-stand of the regular season to the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies starting pitching this past home stand was rocked by the revamped Atlanta offense.