Jeter Golf Classic a big hit for charity
01/29/2007 3:26 PM ET
Jeter Golf Classic a big hit for charity
Yanks shortstop raises money for Turn 2 Foundation in Tampa
By Chris Girandola / Special to MLB.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- Kerplunk!
Derek Jeter's first shot off the tee on the 5th hole at Avila Golf & Country Club hooked far left of the green and plopped right into the water.
As the host of his 4th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic on Monday, Jeter was stationed at the par-3 tee box to greet and thank each foursome as it made its jaunt around the picturesque golf course.
He would repeat the failed attempt two more times before knocking a high arching 9-iron shot 10 feet from the hole, drawing cheers from his father, Dr. S. Charles Jeter, and the foursome that included Buffalo Bills great Bruce Smith.
"That's more like it," Jeter shouted, eliciting laughter from the contingent of media and volunteers that lined the tee box.
Aside from Jeter's adventures on the golf course and the chilly 45-degree morning in Florida, the Yankees shortstop was more pleased about the staging and results of his golf tournament.
"I'm honored to be able to host such an event and to have such support from my friends to benefit a worthy cause," said Jeter, who established the Turn 2 Foundation in 1996 to give back to various communities including West Michigan, Tampa and New York. "I'm committed to doing everything I can to help and encourage kids that they can reach their goals no matter how difficult it appears sometimes. My role off the field is just as important as my role on the field."
More than 125 golfers attended the event that benefited Turn 2 Foundation programs in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, including Phoenix House's Derek Jeter Academy, the Derek Jeter Scholarship administered by the Hillsborough Education Foundation, and the St. Peter Claver School scholarship fund.
Some of Jeter's friends who made it for the event included Michael Jordan, Ahmad Rashad, Jerome Bettis, and several current or former Yankees: Jorge Posada, Johnny Damon, Miguel Cairo, Tino Martinez, Gary Sheffield, Tanyon Sturtze, Lou Piniella and Don Zimmer.
With Jeter spending more and more of the winter and spring months in the Tampa area, he has become involved with supporting area causes.
The Academy, which has been in the planning stages for more than a year, is expected to open some time this year. Jeter plans to be as involved as possible with the residential high school, which will be geared towards troubled teens who can receive drug and alcohol treatment while earning an education.
"This is a reflection of what Derek stands for as a person," said his proud father, who serves as vice president of the foundation. "To be able to give back the way we've been able to is what the whole journey means. He's been able to reach farther than we ever expected and it is truly a blessing as a parent to see the type of man he's become."
The golf tournament was the culmination of a weekend that began with the Launch Party on Saturday night at the Rattlefish Bar and Grill in Tampa, followed by a practice round on Sunday morning at the Tournament Players Club of Tampa Bay. On Sunday night, at the Celebrity Auction Draw Party, Jordan again brought in the most money with a bid of $43,000 and Zimmer was a surprise second place with a bid of $20,000.
Since the inception of the classic, Turn 2 has committed more than $400,000 to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area.
Chris Girandola is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
© 2001-2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.
In Hyde Park, a night full of stars
In Hyde Park, a night full of stars
[2 TAMPA Edition]
St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Date: Jan 25, 2007
Start Page: 1.B
Section: TAMPA & STATE
Text Word Count: 467
Document Text
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jan 25, 2007
Correction (01/26/07): Golfer Tiger Woods was not among celebrities at Tampa's Hyde Park Cafe on Tuesday. An article Thursday was incorrect on that point. Woods is competing this week in California.
Jeter, Jordan, Pippen, Sheffield, Woods and Ivey. All in the same room. Awesome.
Stardom reached critical mass at the Hyde Park Cafe in Wednesday's early hours. Another celebrity and it might have collapsed in on itself, birthing an infinitely dense black hole of fame.
Mere mortals orbited outside the curtained-off VIP area. At thin gaps in the gauze, tube-topped women jostled for peeps at basketball legends Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, baseball stars Derek Jeter and Gary Sheffield, golfer Tiger Woods and professional poker player Phil Ivey.
Combined, they own 12 NBA rings, five World Series baseball rings, four Masters golf tournament green jackets and five World Series of Poker bracelets.
The beautiful people are in town for the fourth annual Derek Jeter Celebrity Golf Classic in Avila this Monday. Last year's event raised $600,000 for Tampa area schools.
Last weekend, Jeter played in Jordan's own charity golf tournament in the Bahamas. Jeter owns a house in Tampa, spring training city for his Yankees.
"The first time I met him, I wasn't nice because he's Jeter," said Boston-born, rival Red Sox fan Peter Hannouche, a co-owner of the nightclub. "But he's the kind of guy who wins you over. He's a class act."
So classy, in fact, that Jeter didn't even deck the young reporter who grabbed his bulky biceps and asked for an interview on Jeter's way out of the club.
"No, man, I ain't talking to no papers right now, man," Jeter said.
The gathering featured a number of large bodyguards. While some patrons argued with bouncers to get in, others settled for tiny brushes with fame.
Brett Coover, a 30-year-old technology consultant, spotted a familiar figure in an orange shirt walking to the restroom.
"Wow," he later remembered thinking. "It's Tiger Woods."
His friend and co-worker Matty VanHook, 26, saw Jeter in the restroom and witnessed him tipping an attendant.
"It wasn't going to change my outlook on life or anything, but it was definitely a cool happening," VanHook said.
Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mmohammed@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3404.
Copyright © 2007 St. Petersburg Times
Sources: Yankee Stadium to host '08 All-Star Game
Updated: Jan. 16, 2007, 11:31 AM ET
Sources: Yankee Stadium to host '08 All-Star Game
By Buster Olney
ESPN The Magazine
Yankee Stadium will be the site of the 2008 All-Star Game, sources in baseball said, in the last year of the ballpark.
The new Yankee Stadium is scheduled to open in 2009, and old Yankee Stadium closed, 86 years after the ballpark was first built in 1923, and 33 years after the ballpark was remodeled on the same site in 1976. With the All-Star Game slated to be in an AL park in 2008, officials chose Yankee Stadium for the site, believing it to be an appropriate way to usher out the historic building.
The All-Star Game has been held in Yankee Stadium three times previously, the last time in 1977.
An announcement on the selection of Yankee Stadium is expected in the days ahead, perhaps next week, with Major League Baseball coordinating with the Mayor's office in New York.
Next summer's All-Star Game will be played in San Francisco, and on Monday night, Commissioner Bud Selig formally announced that the 2009 All-Star Game will be played in St. Louis.
Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine.
Copyright ©2007 ESPN Internet Ventures.
Jeter nets honor, pays tribute to O'Neil
01/14/2007 5:30 AM ET
Jeter nets honor, pays tribute to O'Neil
Legacy Award recipient basks in history of Negro Leagues
By Justice B. Hill / MLB.com
KANSAS CITY -- Derek Jeter apologized for never having been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum before Saturday.
"I always intended to go," Jeter said. "I think as you get older, you get a little bit lazier during the daytime before the games."
On a bone-chilling day in mid-January, he had no games to fret about. No pennant race with the archrival Red Sox to distract him. No Yankee pinstripes to put on. He came to take part in the annual Legacy Awards ceremony, a tribute to the black pioneers in black baseball, to pick up the Oscar Charleston Award for his MVP-caliber play in 2006 and to bask in the history of it all.
Jeter couldn't deny the museum struck an emotional chord.
"I've heard a lot of stories from my dad growing up," he said. "But getting an opportunity to come here and see this is impressive. That's to say the least. It's something I think everybody should have an opportunity to experience."
Yet his first visit was bittersweet, too. For absent was Buck O'Neil, the museum chairman and a man who had befriended Jeter in 1996. O'Neil had died three months earlier.
"I was a rookie," Jeter recalled. "He went out of his way to introduce himself: 'You don't have to introduce yourself to me. You're Buck O'Neil.'
"He always treated me great."
But who doesn't treat Yankee royalty great? With a trophy case that might resemble a small house, Jeter picked up more hardware here for his trophy case: the Charleston and the Pop Lloyd Award for community leadership.
He wished O'Neil had been here to enjoy the moment with him.
Before the ceremony, Jeter expressed regret that O'Neil didn't get his due while alive. He called O'Neil's rejection last year for induction into the Hall of Fame an injustice, and he said he hopes the injustice doesn't push O'Neil out of people's minds. That might be a harsher blow than the first, Jeter said.
"I'm going to remember him, because I met him on a personal level," Jeter said. "But I think anytime you do something for a player, it's going to open people's eyes and they're going to want to learn more about him.
"That's the biggest tribute you can give him."
On a night of tributes, O'Neil got his moment, too. Jeter and the hundreds who attended the awards show saw a video tribuet to O'Neil. It touched the high points of O'Neil's life, which includes the legacy he left as a man too proud to have regrets or to hate.
Few people in baseball can live to such a high standard. So the best way to honor O'Neil might simply be to play baseball with excellence as the aim. As a Yankee, Jeter knows he can ill-afford to play the game any other way.
As he enjoyed the present, he knew that he'd soon have to go back to work. Spring Training starts next month, and he's eager for it to begin. He'll be welcoming back veteran left-hander Andy Pettitte, who spent the past three seasons with the Astros, and also trying to grow comfortable with a handful of new Yankees teammates.
New or old, they all know what the expectations are for any man who puts on the pinstripes: to win a championship.
"We need to win a championship," Jeter said. "That's the bottom line."
He'll be heading to Tampa with optimism in tow. It's a new beginning, he said. He can forget what happened last season -- the good and the bad.
The good led to his picking up the Charleston Award. The bad: no championship.
The Yankees play for championships -- period. He sees nothing less than that as the goal for 2007. He has plenty of reasons, aside from Pettitte's return, to be optimistic that the Yankees will add another title to their storied history.
"There's a lot of optimism," Jeter said. "But I think that's for every team."
Justice B. Hill is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
© 2001-2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Jeter, Cano adept with the glove, but deadly with the bat
01/17/2007 2:00 PM ET
Around the Horn: Middle Infielders
Jeter, Cano adept with the glove, but deadly with the bat
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
The following is the third in a series of weekly stories on MLB.com examining each Major League club, position by position. Each Wednesday until Spring Training camps open, we'll preview a different position. Today: Middle infielders.
NEW YORK -- They can turn a double play any day of the week, but it's at the plate where Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano really do their damage.
The Yankees' middle-infield combination teamed up to put a 1-2 punch on the American League batting race in 2006, as Jeter and Cano finished second and third, respectively, behind the Twins' Joe Mauer.
Along the way, they earned hardware to remind them of their in-season exploits, with both players logging a Silver Slugger Award -- given to the top offensive player at their position as voted on by Major League managers and coaches.
Jeter, 32, added an AL Hank Aaron Award and his third consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award to the mix.
Beginning his 12th full season as the Yankees shortstop, Jeter is the team captain and has long been established as the face of the organization. He lost out on a bid for his first Most Valuable Player Award last season, falling 14 points shy of the 320 logged by the Twins' Justin Morneau.
Many had expected Jeter to run away with the balloting following his tremendous 2006 campaign, but he logged 12 first-place votes -- three fewer than Morneau.
Jeter, once again an All-Star after missing the 2005 squad, finished second in the AL with a .343 batting average and 118 runs scored. He was fourth with a .417 on-base percentage and sixth with 34 stolen bases.
A clutch performer who batted .381 with runners in scoring position in 2006, Jeter also hit 14 home runs and drove in 97 runs, though the Yankees captain would have traded his kudos and accolades for another World Series title.
"You've heard me say it a thousand times, but winning the World Series for the New York Yankees continues to be my main focus," Jeter said in a statement following the MVP vote. "There is no individual award that can compare with a championship trophy, and I look forward to working towards that challenge again in 2007."
In 2004, Jeter became the first Yankees shortstop to win a Gold Glove Award. However, his fielding has remained a regular source of criticism, even though he has added two more to his trophy case.
New York Yankees
• Catchers: Posada steady as it gets
• Corner IF: HS teammates reunited
• Middle IF: Good gloves, great bats
• Outfielders: January 24
• Starters: January 31
• Bullpen: February 7
• DH/Bench: February 14
Last year, Jeter's .975 fielding percentage ranked fourth in the AL, while his 15 errors were the third-fewest behind the Rangers' Michael Young and the White Sox's Juan Uribe (14 each) among all AL shortstops who played in at least 130 games.
Cano, 24, helped create a dangerous offensive tandem with Jeter during his second full Major League season. The All-Star hit 15 home runs and collected 78 RBIs for the Yankees, finishing just one point behind Jeter with a .342 batting average -- good for third in the American League.
Cano missed six weeks during the summer with a hamstring injury, but he finished the regular season on a tear, batting .373 (41-for-110) in September to earn AL Player of the Month honors.
Since taking over as the Yankees' full-time second baseman in May 2005, placing second in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting, Cano has gained entry into discussions about baseball's best young talents.
The left-handed-hitting Cano finished ninth in the American League with 41 doubles, and for the second straight year, he did some of his best work away from Yankee Stadium. Cano led the AL again in road batting average, hitting .364 away from the Bronx.
Continuing to improve his defensive craft, Cano started 115 games at second base for the Yankees in 2006. He posted a .984 fielding percentage, committing nine errors in 572 total chances and works well with Jeter up the middle.
Miguel Cairo is set to return as the Yankees' utility infielder. Cairo became a valuable player for New York last season when Cano went down to injury for 34 games, batting .239 with 30 RBIs in 222 at-bats. Cairo played all four infield positions in 2006, plus one game in left field.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
© 2001-2007 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Derek Jeter principle defines market economics
The Derek Jeter principle defines market economics
By Thomas Sowell
Hoover Institution at Stanford University
January 14, 2007 6:00 AM
One question often asked by those obsessed with income gaps and disparities is:
"Is anyone really worth the millions of dollars a year that some people receive as personal income?"
Such a question presupposes there is such a thing as real worth. That assumption goes back to the Middle Ages, when people thought there was a fair and just price for things.
If there were an objective value - whether of goods or labor - economic transactions would make no sense.
When you buy a computer, the only reason you part with your money is the computer is worth more to you than the money. The only reason someone sells you the computer is the money is worth more to them than the computer.
The difference in value of the same thing to different people is the whole basis for economic transactions.
If there was any such thing as an objective value, these transactions would make no sense. Why bother making an exchange if what you get is no more valuable to you than what you give?
If there is an objective value of a computer that's greater than what's being paid for it, the seller has been cheated and is a fool to keep making such transactions.
Similarly, if the objective value is less than what is paid, the buyer is a fool to keep buying something that isn't worth its price.
It's the same story when Derek Jeter gets paid millions of dollars to play shortstop for the New York Yankees.
He gains by exchanging his time and skills for the money team owner George Steinbrenner pays him. Steinbrenner also gains by paying Jeter to play shortstop - which helps bring in more money in gate receipts, the sale of television rights and other sources of revenue.
As for the rest of us, it's none of our business what Steinbrenner pays Jeter. It's their deal. If we don't understand it, there's no reason why our ignorance should influence what happens.
The medieval notion that there is an objective, fair and just price dies hard, though even in medieval times St. Thomas Aquinas saw some of the problems with the idea.
The British classical economists of the 18th and early 19th centuries saw cost of production as an objective basis for prices.
Since the 1870s, economists around the world have recognized that value is subjective and have incorporated that into their analysis of prices, based on supply and demand.
If something costs more to produce than people are willing to pay, the producer just loses money.
A principle that seems obvious, after it has been articulated, might take generations to evolve and be incorporated into our thinking.
Yet here we are, in the 21st century, still talking about whether people are paid more or less than they are really worth - and we're hot to give government the power to do something if we don't understand why some people are paid so much or so little.
If ignorance is bad, confusion is worse. Productivity, for example, is often confused with merit.
If Derek Jeter worked like a dog for years to perfect his skills as a baseball player, some might think he had earned the big bucks he gets.
If he was just born with natural talent and the whole thing is a breeze to him, that would mean he didn't really merit such a huge payoff.
Steinbrenner isn't paying for Jeter's merit. He's paying for his productivity, whether at bat or in the field. Somebody who worked twice as hard and was still only half as good never would get the same money Jeter gets.
Many poverty-stricken people in the Third World work harder than most Americans work. But, for a number of reasons, they don't produce as much. That's why these countries are poor.
Transferring wealth from 300 million Americans and spreading it out over 2 billion people in India and China isn't going to do much. Enabling more people in India or China to become more productive can help them and us - and has.
Multinational corporations are among the biggest spreaders of greater productivity to Third World countries, and they usually pay higher wages than local employers.
Moral exhibitionists who are hot for the redistribution of other people's money are among the biggest critics of multinational corporations.
Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.
Copyright © 1998 - 2006 ONI Stockton, Inc., All Rights Reserved
Derek Jeter Gracing Major League Baseball 2K7 Cover
Derek Jeter Gracing Major League Baseball 2K7 Cover
Yankees Captain returns for the third year running.
By Dan Dormer, 01/04/2007 2K Sports announced today that, once again, Derek Jeter was the man they wanted plastered on the next installment in their Major League Baseball series, Major League Baseball 2K7. MLB 2K7 arrives for to the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 3 and PSP sometime in the next couple months.
"It is a real privilege to represent the premier MLB title in the video game industry," stated Derek Jeter in the announcement release. "Just as I am always striving to improve my game, 2K Sports is constantly improving theirs, and this dedication has made Major League Baseball 2K7 the best MLB video game ever."
Strong words from a man whose team hasn't won a World Series since 2000. I kid, I kid.
Copyright © 2002-2006 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1UP and the 1UP.COM logo are a trademark of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.
Derek Jeter Romantically Involved with Jessica Biel
Derek Jeter Romantically Involved with Jessica Biel New York Yankees star Derek Jeter has been romantically involved with 7th Heaven star Jessica Biel according to reports that have surfaced.
The two were even photographed on Holiday getting off a boat at their hotel in Puerto Rico.
The new couple even spent New Years with one another in Puerto Rico. They have been playing blackjack at the El Conquistador Resort and Golden Door Spa these past few days in a roped off area.
Meanwhile, the seven-time all-star and the runner-up for the 2006 American League Most Valuable Player Award Derek Jeter is returning for another season as the spokesman and cover boy for 2K Sports’ baseball game Major League Baseball 2K7.
This is the second year that Derek Jeter will grace the cover and come back for a repeat season as the spokesman for the franchise which is set to release its latest installment sometime around February and March for the Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable.
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Sports911.com News Wire
Originally published January 5, 2007 4:36 pm ET
Derek Jeter Announced as Cover Athlete for MLB 2K7
Derek Jeter Announced as Cover Athlete for MLB 2K7
New York Yankees’ Captain plastered on 2K’s baseball game.
January 5th, 2007 (6:07pm) - 2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has announced the return of New York Yankees’ All-Star Shortstop Derek Jeter as cover athlete and official spokesperson for Major League Baseball 2K7.
Jeter, a seven-time All-Star, had a spectacular 2006 season, finishing with a .343 batting average that ranked second overall in the American League. Additionally in 2006, Jeter won his third straight Gold Glove award as well as winning the Hank Aaron Award for best overall offensive performer for the American League. As the New York Yankees’ team captain, Jeter’s talent, leadership, and determined attitude have earned him numerous accolades, cementing him as one of the greatest players to wear the Yankee pinstripes.
Major League Baseball 2K7 will be available for the Xbox 360, Xbox, Playstation 3, PlayStation 2, and the PSP.
Additional features and enhancements that take the virtual Major League Baseball experience to the next level will be announced in advance of the release of Major League Baseball 2K7 in late winter.
Reported by David Amirian on January 5th, 2007 (6:07pm)
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