George W. Bush, 9/11, ‘First Pitch’ on ESPN’s ’30 for 30′

By Lynn R. Mitchell

George W. Bush said nothing to the crowd the night he took the mound at Yankee Stadium, only a few miles from where he had shouted through a bullhorn to people digging through the wreckage of the World Trade Center less than two months earlier.

Wearing a bulletproof vest, the president flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd, then threw a perfect strike before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a signal to the country that the healing could begin.

“It was so moving, so powerful, that it lifted our nation,” sportscaster Jim Gray said Sunday night at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. “What President Bush told us without uttering a single word, was that we could once again attempt to carry on our lives. … What an amazing symbol it was.”

It’s time to reinstate Pete Rose

Pete Rose

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Yes, I’m old enough to remember when Pete Rose was suspended from baseball. It was 25 years ago. I’ve also watched sports figures practically thumb their noses at the rules in the years since for a number of infractions but none have been penalized like Pete Rose who was banned for life.

It’s time already. Reinstate him and then put him in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose is now 73 years old. He has, in my opinion, more than paid for his mistake. He has petitioned the new Major League Commissioner Rob Manfred to be reinstated (see ESPN’s Pete Rose petitions commissioner).

Jim Valvano: He twice taught us to never give up

By Lynn R. Mitchell

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” -Jim Valvano

This time of year — March Madness — always makes me think about Jim Valvano with his NC State Cinderella team in 1983, and his inspirational words just weeks before his death ten years later.

It was April 1983, and my then-boyfriend now-husband and I were on the mountain roads of western Virginia driving back to Richmond after a ski weekend with friends at Snowshoe Ski Resort in West Virginia. We had enjoyed hitting the slopes, some of our group skiing in shorts as we soaked in the warm sunshine and uniqueness of spring on the mountain, but the weekend was over and we were headed home and back to work on Monday.