RECOVERY
Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner was the first baseman for the Boston Red Sox during the 1986 season. During game six of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets, a groundball hit by Mookie Wilson passed through Buckner's legs, allowing the game-winning run to score for the Mets. New York went on to win Game 7 and claimed the World Series title, leaving the Red Sox the victims of a monumental collapse. Buckner's error became synonymous with the "Curse of the Bambino," which had left the team devoid of a World Series title for 68 years.
Bill Buckner's infamous error would define the rest of his career. During the 1987 season, Buckner was repeatedly harassed and booed by fans of the Red Sox and opposing teams alike. On July 23, 1987, Bill Buckner was released from the Red Sox and signed by the California Angels. For the rest of his career, Buckner was unable to compile statistics as impressive as those prior to his error in the World Series. Hostile fans and haunting memories of the incident clearly affected his performance on the field.
In 2007, the Boston Red Sox won their second World Series title in three years. On April 8, 2008, Bill Buckner was invited to Fenway Park on opening day to throw out the ceremoinal first pitch of the game. Buckner threw out the pitch as the banner was presented to the stadium. After his pitch, an emotional Buckner received an extremely long standing ovation from the crowd. The fans showed Buckner that they were sorry for their jeers and slurs, and that they were grateful for his amazing career. When Buckner was questioned about his appearance he said, "I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I've done that and I'm over that."
Click here to view Bill Buckner's career statistics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_World_Series
http://amazine1.mlblogs.com/45659_Buckner-error-4.jpg
Bill Buckner's infamous error would define the rest of his career. During the 1987 season, Buckner was repeatedly harassed and booed by fans of the Red Sox and opposing teams alike. On July 23, 1987, Bill Buckner was released from the Red Sox and signed by the California Angels. For the rest of his career, Buckner was unable to compile statistics as impressive as those prior to his error in the World Series. Hostile fans and haunting memories of the incident clearly affected his performance on the field.
In 2007, the Boston Red Sox won their second World Series title in three years. On April 8, 2008, Bill Buckner was invited to Fenway Park on opening day to throw out the ceremoinal first pitch of the game. Buckner threw out the pitch as the banner was presented to the stadium. After his pitch, an emotional Buckner received an extremely long standing ovation from the crowd. The fans showed Buckner that they were sorry for their jeers and slurs, and that they were grateful for his amazing career. When Buckner was questioned about his appearance he said, "I really had to forgive, not the fans of Boston, per se, but I would have to say in my heart I had to forgive the media for what they put me and my family through. So, you know, I've done that and I'm over that."
Click here to view Bill Buckner's career statistics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_World_Series
http://amazine1.mlblogs.com/45659_Buckner-error-4.jpg
Buckner's response to the crowd after throwing the first pitch --- http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2008/04/08/2004336021.jpg
Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong has always been a competitive person. During his childhood, Lance not only finished but came in first place in the Iron Kids Triathlon. Lance continued to compete, becoming a professional by the age of 16. Throughout his years in high school, Lance struggled to keep up with his school work because he was devoting almost all of his time to the U.S. Olympic cycling development team. This training convinced Lance that he wanted to pursue a career in professional bike racing. Armstrong competed in many junior world championships. In 1991, Lance was named the U.S. Natural Amateur Champion after his third year competing. Only five years later, Lance Armstrong won many major races including the Tour de France, a World Championship, a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, and the number one ranking in the world.
Although Armstrong was considered the best racer in the world, he received the life changing news that he had testicular cancer (Click here for information on testicular cancer). The cancer had been undetected for a long time, spreading to his lungs and his brain. Lance was told that he would have less than a 50% chance to fully recover and return to racing. Lance was determined to pursue his career and went through extensive chemotherapy (Click here for information on chemotherapy). Luckily, the treatment was successful and Lance made a full recovery.
In 1998, Lance's career was almost ended again. In the middle of a race, Lance pulled over and decided to quit. Almost everyone thought that this would be Lance's career ending race. After the race, Lance retreated to North Carolina to spend time with a friend and relax. Lance enjoyed the entire week of stress free riding. Lance once again realized how much he loved riding his bike. In 1999, Armstrong's new goal was to win the Tour de France. In his first Tour de France, Lance pulled off an amazing victory. This was the first time people began to look up to him as a hero. Lance then went on to win six more Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong became a symbol of hope and inspiration. Additionally, he was awarded with the Male Athlete of the Year award four times, more than anyone in history.
After his retirement, Lance decided to devote his time to the battle against cancer. He teamed up with Nike, and they created the LIVESTRONG organization. The company sold over sixty million bands, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research, treatment, and recovery.
http://www.lancearmstrong.com/
Although Armstrong was considered the best racer in the world, he received the life changing news that he had testicular cancer (Click here for information on testicular cancer). The cancer had been undetected for a long time, spreading to his lungs and his brain. Lance was told that he would have less than a 50% chance to fully recover and return to racing. Lance was determined to pursue his career and went through extensive chemotherapy (Click here for information on chemotherapy). Luckily, the treatment was successful and Lance made a full recovery.
In 1998, Lance's career was almost ended again. In the middle of a race, Lance pulled over and decided to quit. Almost everyone thought that this would be Lance's career ending race. After the race, Lance retreated to North Carolina to spend time with a friend and relax. Lance enjoyed the entire week of stress free riding. Lance once again realized how much he loved riding his bike. In 1999, Armstrong's new goal was to win the Tour de France. In his first Tour de France, Lance pulled off an amazing victory. This was the first time people began to look up to him as a hero. Lance then went on to win six more Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong became a symbol of hope and inspiration. Additionally, he was awarded with the Male Athlete of the Year award four times, more than anyone in history.
After his retirement, Lance decided to devote his time to the battle against cancer. He teamed up with Nike, and they created the LIVESTRONG organization. The company sold over sixty million bands, raising hundreds of millions of dollars for cancer research, treatment, and recovery.
http://www.lancearmstrong.com/
Tiger Woods
Surely you have heard of Tiger Woods? Eldrick "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer that ranks among the best of all time. Tiger was a prodigious golfer ever since he was just a toddler. At three years old, he shot a 48 over nine holes at the Cypress Navy golf course. At the age of eight, he won the age 9 to 10 boys' event, the youngest group available, at the Junior World Golf Championships. After graduating high school in 1994, Woods was recruited by Stanford University, the 1994 NCAA Division I champion. He won his first collegiate event, the 40th Annual William H. Tucker Invitational, in September.
Tiger Woods began his professional career after two years in college. In 1997, Woods won his first major, the Masters, with a record score of 18 under par. The unprecedented victory made Woods the tournament's youngest-ever winner, as well as its first African-American winner and its first Asian-American winner. Tiger went on to win another three PGA Tour events that year, and in June 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Woods was named PGA Player of the Year, the first time a golfer had won the award in just his second year as a professional.
Over the next decade, Tiger Woods became one of the most dominant athletes, let alone golfer, in the history of sports. He has accumlated 95 tournaments wins, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 PGA Championships, 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Tiger has consistenly been the highest paid athlete in the world, having made $94,157,304 through winnings and endorsements through 2010. He is third in PGA Tour career victories, trailing only Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus.
In 2009, the fortunes of Tiger Woods's career came tumbling down after a lengthy series of unfortunate events. At 2:25 am of November 27, Tiger Woods drove his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside his mansion in Orlando, Florida. With his wife Elin Nordegren by his side, Woods was taken to the hospital after suffering minor injuries. At this point, rumors began swirling that Tiger had an affair with a woman named Rachel Uchitel, and that a domestic disupute with Elin had led to the car accident. Woods had dismissed this rumor, but on December 2, another woman named Jaimee Grubbs stepped forward and admitted to an affair with Woods, using an abundance of text messages as evidence. More and more mistresses stepped forward seemingly each day, and by then, Tiger Woods's clean reputation had been shattered. Woods admitted on April 29, 2010, that he had as many as 120 extramarital affairs in a five year span. On August 23, the inevitable divorce between Elin and Tiger was finalized.
Since the outbreak of news of his affairs, Tiger Woods's golf game has been, by his standards, absolutely pitiful. Woods has not won a single golf tournament since 2009 and has lost his world No. 1 ranking in the process. Tiger has lost a tremendous amount of respect among sports fans and is no longer considered a proper role model for youngsters. However, Tiger did take his first step in recovering his public image by issuing a televised apology on February 19, 2010. Tiger Woods emphasized that he is sincerely apologetic about the follies of his past, and will continue to strive for success in the golf world. The question is: can Tiger Woods recover his ability to dominate in golf and also his heavily tarnished public image? Currently, this has not been the case. It has yet to be seen if Woods will ever be known as the greatest golfer in history, even though it had seemed inevitable prior to his fall from grace.
Click here to view a timeline of Tiger Woods's scandal
Click here to view a list of Tiger Woods's career achievements
Tiger Woods began his professional career after two years in college. In 1997, Woods won his first major, the Masters, with a record score of 18 under par. The unprecedented victory made Woods the tournament's youngest-ever winner, as well as its first African-American winner and its first Asian-American winner. Tiger went on to win another three PGA Tour events that year, and in June 1997, in only his 42nd week as a professional, rose to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Woods was named PGA Player of the Year, the first time a golfer had won the award in just his second year as a professional.
Over the next decade, Tiger Woods became one of the most dominant athletes, let alone golfer, in the history of sports. He has accumlated 95 tournaments wins, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 PGA Championships, 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Tiger has consistenly been the highest paid athlete in the world, having made $94,157,304 through winnings and endorsements through 2010. He is third in PGA Tour career victories, trailing only Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus.
In 2009, the fortunes of Tiger Woods's career came tumbling down after a lengthy series of unfortunate events. At 2:25 am of November 27, Tiger Woods drove his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and tree outside his mansion in Orlando, Florida. With his wife Elin Nordegren by his side, Woods was taken to the hospital after suffering minor injuries. At this point, rumors began swirling that Tiger had an affair with a woman named Rachel Uchitel, and that a domestic disupute with Elin had led to the car accident. Woods had dismissed this rumor, but on December 2, another woman named Jaimee Grubbs stepped forward and admitted to an affair with Woods, using an abundance of text messages as evidence. More and more mistresses stepped forward seemingly each day, and by then, Tiger Woods's clean reputation had been shattered. Woods admitted on April 29, 2010, that he had as many as 120 extramarital affairs in a five year span. On August 23, the inevitable divorce between Elin and Tiger was finalized.
Since the outbreak of news of his affairs, Tiger Woods's golf game has been, by his standards, absolutely pitiful. Woods has not won a single golf tournament since 2009 and has lost his world No. 1 ranking in the process. Tiger has lost a tremendous amount of respect among sports fans and is no longer considered a proper role model for youngsters. However, Tiger did take his first step in recovering his public image by issuing a televised apology on February 19, 2010. Tiger Woods emphasized that he is sincerely apologetic about the follies of his past, and will continue to strive for success in the golf world. The question is: can Tiger Woods recover his ability to dominate in golf and also his heavily tarnished public image? Currently, this has not been the case. It has yet to be seen if Woods will ever be known as the greatest golfer in history, even though it had seemed inevitable prior to his fall from grace.
Click here to view a timeline of Tiger Woods's scandal
Click here to view a list of Tiger Woods's career achievements