2 sad stories rock sports world

I had to take time out from all the football & baseball news to write about some truly important stories related to the sports world.

I was shocked and saddened to hear that 5 Duquesne basketball players had been shot after trying to pacify a non-student who had been disruptive at a school function. When the players attempted to walk away the man pulled out a gun and started shooting, injuring the players, one critically with a gunshot wound to the head. As the president of the Catholic Pittsburgh university said "what motive could there be for unloading a pistol into a group of students?" Absolutely none, and this story illustrates that anything can happen at any time, even in a secure campus area with plenty of people around. Let's just hope that they catch this a-hole quick and punish him to fullest extent of the law.



As if that news weren't bad enough it has been learned that Cubs slugger Derrek Lee will take the rest of the season off to attend to his ailing 3 year old daughter; she has lost partial vision in one eye and he wants to spend as much time with her as possible, as any good father would. But for a man who has already come back from a devastating wrist injury that caused him to miss almost 100 games this year, this is another cruel blow to a player widely regarded as one of the better guys in the league. "You break your wrist and you think that's a big deal," Lee said. "Then something like this happens and it kind of slaps you in the face of what really matters." Amen to that.

Let's just wish the 5 players and Lee's daughter the speediest of recoveries. It's one thing when someone gets hurt on the field of play, or during an attempted crime, like Charger linebacker Steve Foley. But when people seeking to help others are attacked or innocent children are stricken with senseless illnesses it just makes me realize how very unimportant sports really are.