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If you want a taste of Wrigley history, stop at the corner of Waveland and Kenmore Avenues, beyond the left-field bleachers. There youll find the ballhawks, a group of Cubs fans who hang out with their baseball gloves on -- from before batting practice until after the final out -- hoping to snag a home run ball from beyond the ivy.I spoke with a couple of them before a recent game: Rich Buhrke, whos been chasing glory for 57 years, and Dave Davison, with a mere three decades on the job.I watch them scan the skies; the stiff north-by-northwest winds suggest slim pickings during the nights game, and with no batting practice scheduled, itll be slow. So they have time to chat.My first question: Why? Whats the purpose of spending so many days outside Wrigley, all for a ball?Buhrkes answer is as pure and simple as a game of catch: Ive had so much fun -- since I was 12 years old.When you get a homer -- on the fly or after it bounces around the crowd -- he says, For that instant, youre part of the game, and its a big thrill. I still get an adrenaline rush.While back surgery has slowed Buhrkes running game, its now all about predictions, positioning and playing the angles.It takes deep baseball knowledge to be a ball hawk. They monitor pitchers who tend to give up lots of homers, as well as hitters tendencies. They can read the reactions of the crowd along the back wall of the bleachers to tell if a ball is indeed headed out of the park.They also monitor their own statistics. Buhrke has snagged 179 in-game home runs over the years, including Ron Santos 299th and 300th career blasts. He has homers both given up by, and hit by, Cubs pitchers Fergie Jenkins and Scott Sanderson. He also has footballs from point-after-touchdown kicks, back when the Bears played at Wrigley. But his first home run ball might be his most memorable.It was Don Zimmers first dinger as a Cub, after being traded to Chicago from the Dodgers in 1960. Zimmer hit it off his former Dodgers roommate, Johnny Podres. Buhrke got it signed, but the signature faded over the years. Decades later, he went to an autograph show to get it re-signed. There, Zimmer proceeded to tell the inside story of the home run. It came on a 2-0 pitch, a count where the book says a .250 hitter should take a pitch. But Zimmer swung away, and Podres gave him an earful about it all the way around the bases.Every time we see each other, it comes up. You gotta show him this sometime! Zimmer told Buhrke.So when Podres was in town for another autograph show, Buhrke brought him the ball, and said, Don Zimmer told me to come over by you. Podres laughed and told the same story Zimmer had.Then he signed the other side of the ball.The ballhawks are also famous on their own terms. Theres been a documentary film made about them, with Cubs uber-fan Bill Murray narrating, which was screened at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.And Davison has another sort of modern fame: his own bobblehead doll. At the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee, Davison snagged a ball Sammy Sosa blasted out of Miller Park during the Home Run Derby. The TV announcers discussed his feat, and years later, folks from the Milwaukee-based National Bobblehead Hall of Fame met Davison at a card show and asked him if hed want to be immortalized. It finally happened this year, and you can buy one from Davison, along with jewelry made from baseballs he has caught.Other developments this season, however, havent been as good for Davison, Buhrke and the other ballhawks.Thanks to bleacher expansion and what Buhrke calls That Monstrosity -- the new left-field video board -- many balls that wouldve gone onto Waveland Ave. stay in the park. The hawks estimate they get 60 percent fewer balls than in past years. Beyond physical changes, manager Joe Maddons noted disdain for batting practice doesnt help, either. Maddons philosophy of batting practice kills us, Buhrke says. The ballhawks know if BP will happen when the Wrigley Field grounds crew climbs up to spread the netting that protects the video board, and if it doesnt, well, then its time to settle in and tell some stories.These guys know the geography of the games history at the Friendly Confines, and they act as unofficial historians and ambassadors for Wrigleys most famous home runs. Out-of-town fans come looking for the spots where famed long shots by Dave Kingman or Sosa landed on Kenmore Ave. This afternoon, some random fan sought a Mike Schmidt landing zone, and was informed that that particular ball went up the alley, not down the street.You can find ballhawks inside the park as well: During one of the pregame videos the Cubs show on the new board, Buhrke himself appears, holding up a ball as Harry Caray shouts, Holy Cow! Buhrke had never seen the film until I captured an image for him, and based on his age, clothes and other clues, he says its from the late 1980s. He thinks it mightve been an Andre Dawson ball, but cant be completely sure.This season, Davison scored the most historic out-of-the-park ball of the year to date. On May 27, backup catcher David Ross 100th career home run hit the NUVEEN sign and ricocheted into the first front yard on Kenmore. Buhrke had predicted that such caroms would come, but Davison admits he thought the sign was mostly air and that it wouldnt cause any crazy bounces. He happily eats his words: Rich was right, but so far Im the only guy who benefited from it.After Davison snagged the ball, for the rest of the game the Cubs had security shadow him to ensure he wouldnt switch the ball out for another. They neednt have worried: Davison happily gave the ball to Ross, asking only for a photo with him. The grateful Ross praised Davisons generosity.People dont realize when they do stuff like that, its the memory, Ross said to MLB.com. Ill always remember that guy gave me that ball and was kind enough to do that. Now that guy is connected with me for life in my memory.Another memorable time for the ballhawks was the steroid era, when Sosa, Mark McGwire and other sluggers sent countless balls out of the park. It was as exciting as hell, Buhrke says, but as a good baseball purist, he continues, [PED use] never shouldve got into baseball, and now that its out, keep it out. He advocates harsher penalties for juicers, who he says are role models, whether they want to be or not.The ballhawks are role models of a sort, too, exemplars of passionate fan engagement with the game on their own terms. They attend many games, and sometimes follow the Cubs on the road. Theyre part of baseballs genuine folk culture, but over the decades theyve watched that folk culture transform into corporate culture.The starkest example of this transformation at Wrigley is the rooftop clubs. Before Jim Murphy put some seats on top of his tavern, you could watch the Cubs from a rooftop only if you knew someone who lived in the building. Youd clamber up a ladder to the roof, hand up a couple of folding lawn chairs, a cooler with a few cold brews and a transistor radio with Lou Boudreau and Vince Lloyd calling the game.Nobody made a buck off it. Now, the Wrigley rooftops are quintessential corporate America, with $100 tickets that have food and drink and TVs and lawsuits flying around like fungo balls.But the ballhawks are a living memory, a connection to Cubs fan culture before East Lakeview became Wrigleyville. They may perch beyond its walls, but they are as much a part of Wrigley Field as the ivy. Jakub Zboril Bruins Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. Riley Nash Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. http://www.authenticbruinsnhlhockey.com/derek-sanderson-jersey/ ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. Jimmy Hayes Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Brandon Carlo Bruins Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. The 33rd Maui Invitational tips off Monday and will feature another field loaded with basketball powerhouses. The eight-team tournament will consist of schools that have a combined 14 NCAA championships, 40 Final Four appearances and 192 NCAA tournament appearances.This years field includes Oregon, Tennessee, Georgetown, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State, UConn, North Carolina and host Chaminade.The winner at Maui has gone on to become national champs four times, with UConn in 2010-11 being the most recent. North Carolina has won the tournament three times.Oregon will take on Georgetown at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.?The Ducks will be making their second Maui Invitational appearance, as they lost to the eventual Maui champion North Carolina in 2008. The Tar Heels also went on to win the national title that season.After missing the teams first three games, preseason All-American DDillon Brooks is expected to make his season debut against the Hoyas.dddddddddddd Brooks averaged 16.7 points per game in 2015-16, which is second among returning Pac-12 players. Oregon has missed his production early this season, most notably in its 17-point loss to Baylor on Nov. 15.The team has shot just 28.4 percent from 3-point range and is 158th in offensive efficiency, after ranking 25th in that category last season. Senior forward Chris Boucher has done his best to help pick up the slack without Brooks in the lineup, averaging 17 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 block in Oregons first three games.After being at No. 5 in the preseason AP top-25 poll, the highest ranking in Oregon history, the team has now slipped to No. 13 this week.-- Josiah Turner Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '

ghest ranking in Oregon history, the team

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