For the Record
Died
Of cardiac arrest at age 77, Chico Carrasquel, the first Latin-born player to appear in a major league All-Star Game. Carrasquel broke into the big leagues with the White Sox in 1950, taking the place of Hall of Fame shortstop Luke Appling. In his six years with Chicago, the slick fielding Venezuelan was an All-Star four times, including 1951, when he was voted the starter and singled in his first at bat. He was traded to Cleveland before the 1956 season, but he never enjoyed the same success, and his career was over by 1959. Carrasquel spent seven seasons doing Spanish-language broadcasts for the White Sox and worked in the team's community-relations department for years. He remained a hero in Venezuela, which has since turned out shortstops Dave Concepcion, Omar Vizquel and current White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. Carrasquel's death was announced on television by Venezuela's president, Hugo Chàvez, who shouted, "Viva Carrasquel!"
Auctioned
By sponsorless Olympic shot putter Adam Nelson, advertising space on his uniform. Desperate for funding to offset his $20,000-a-year training expenses after he lost sponsors Nike and Visa, the two-time silver medalist (right) put the space up for sale on eBay, promising to wear the high bidder's logo through the U.S. championships later this month. The best of 104 bids came from the talking pill bottle maker MedivoxRx, which will pay $12,000.
Joined
A Justice Department task force that tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet, Shaquille O'Neal. The Heat center--who was recently sworn in as a U.S. deputy marshal--spends hours on his home computer, learning the techniques that officers use to track predators. "When I am done playing, I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere," said O'Neal. "He'd be a great undercover guy," said Miami Beach police chief Don De Lucca. "Obviously, we're not going to send him out to buy dope, but he can do surveillance, he can do Internet crimes."
Joined
The Washington Baseball Club, one of nine groups bidding to buy the Washington Nationals, former secretary of state Colin Powell. The investment group also includes former Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green. "We have the opportunity to reinvigorate this city and bring baseball back to a generation of youth who have lost their connection to our nation's pastime," said Powell.
Blamed
For making several mistakes that led to the death of a fan celebrating the Red Sox' win in last year's ALCS, the Boston police department. Victoria Snelgrove, a 21-year-old Emerson College student, died after being struck in the eye by a pellet fired by a policeman during a celebration near Fenway Park. A report released last week by an independent commission stated that the police did little research before deciding to use pellet guns for crowd control and then inadequately trained officers to use them. (The officer who fired the shot that killed Snelgrove says he was aiming at another person, who was throwing bottles.) "We find that inadequate planning and training, combined with a breakdown of command discipline, set up a situation ripe to produce an unintended result," the report said. Five officers face internal charges; last month the city settled a lawsuit with Snelgrove's family for $5.1 million.
Won
By Johns Hopkins, its 43rd men's lacrosse championship. On Monday, in front of a record 44,920 fans, the top-ranked Blue Jays put the capper on a 16--0 season with a 9--8 win over Duke, which entered the game with the nation's most potent offense (13.63 goals per game). Hopkins goalie Jesse Schwartzman, the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, had 12 saves, and the Blue Jays held the Blue Devils without a goal for the final 27:43. For the past three years the Blue Jays failed to win the title after finishing the regular season ranked No. 1. "I thought we were cursed," said coach Dave Pietramala, a member of the '87 championship team and the first man to win the Division I title as a player and a coach. "I'm not a guy that believes in destiny. I believe in hard work, and this group worked their tails off."
Landed
By Illinois fisherman Tim Pruitt, a 124-pound blue catfish--believed to be the largest of its kind ever caught. Pruitt was fishing with his wife and a friend on the Mississippi just south of Alton, Ill., last weekend when he hooked the fish using the head of a mooneye fish for bait. After a 45-minute fight Pruitt, a 33-year-old plant worker who is also an amateur powerlifter, pulled the 58-inch fish onto his boat. Pruitt planned to put the fish on display at a sporting goods store, but it died en route.
COLOR PHOTO
AP (CATFISH)
COLOR PHOTO
DARRYL DENNIS/ICON SMI (NELSON)
COLOR PHOTO
BETTMANN/CORBIS (CARRASQUEL)