Just when your cynicism is at a sneer level and your skepticism is bottling up all joy, along come Landon Donovan, the plucky Slovakians and a pair of tennis players who wouldn’t say uncle. Throw in baseball’s newest uberrookie Stephen Strasburg and the Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga example of confession and forgiveness. Maybe this […]
Steve Solloway
Posted inSports, Varsity Maine
Solloway: Coming together, in wins and titles and especially big losses
PORTLAND – The moment to remember a son, a brother, a classmate, had arrived. Lined up on the sideline with his Portland High teammates, Pat Cormier let his head drop. Soon, Evan Michaelski’s arm went around Cormier’s shoulder. On the other side, Andrew Schwartz’s gloved hand rested on the small of Cormier’s back. The contact […]
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Solloway: Baseball’s his game, and passion
STANDISH – He had faith. Westbrook High would rally to beat Biddeford. “You’ll see,” he said, hugging the left-field fence that separated him from longtime teammates and friends. It didn’t happen, not with Biddeford pitcher Trevor Fleurent so in control Tuesday night. When Fleurent and his teammates celebrated their victory for the Western Class A […]
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Solloway: Graduates, know whose hand you’re grasping
Tim Wilson heard his name called and walked to get his high school diploma. He shook hands with the honored guest. When he thought it was time to pull away, Harry Stuhldreher wouldn’t let go. “He was one of the Four Horsemen, the quarterback,” said Wilson, referring to the fabled Notre Dame backfield from the […]
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Solloway: Seattle awaits, and don’t bet against him
Andrew Giobbi was out of the Vanderbilt dugout and in full stride when he reached the winning runner, turning his teammate upside down and putting him on the ground. The rest of the team piled on, yelling their delight. Ouch. Hadn’t anyone remembered what happened to Kendry Morales a week or two ago in Anaheim, […]
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Solloway: So easy to appreciate, if you try
WESTBROOK – Before patrons slide onto the stools at Fajita Grill, bartender Luis Sanchez has the televisions to himself. He sets the channels, leans back, and watches as artistes pass the ball to their Mexican football league teammates. Soon, he works the beer taps and mixes margaritas. Soon, he hears the inevitable cry: hey, can […]
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Solloway: Living a dream, even at 5-foot-3
PORTLAND – Chris Cates got the word when he was a high school freshman. The growth spurt he was waiting for wasn’t going to happen, said the doctor giving Cates his sports physical. The kid had topped out. Cates was 5-foot-3. He was crushed. Today, Chris Cates is the starting shortstop for the New Britain […]
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Solloway: He knows how to develop players, on and off the field
Will Sanborn has found success as the baseball coach at St. Joseph’s College, and nobody works harder to achieve it.
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Solloway: Ballpark, like it was meant to be
OLD ORCHARD BEACH — It was a blue-sky Sunday, a perfect day for baseball. Or so Tom LaChance thought. He listened to the sounds of the game: the pop of balls hitting leather, the crack of wooden bats hitting balls. The called balls and strikes of the home plate umpire. He caught the pungent scent […]
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Steve Solloway: Worthwhile visit for everybody
PORTLAND – The bare hand reached up to snare one baseball after another tossed over the dugout roof. With his other hand, Jacoby Ellsbury scribbled his signature. Sea Dogs caps were tossed. Red Sox caps. The cardboard that fluttered in the breeze might have been baseball cards. Each got an autograph. “He’s a class act,” […]