Babe Ruth

Tommy Byrne, a Baltimore-born southpaw who pitched in four World Series as a member of the New York Yankees, died of congestive heart failure Thursday in Wake Forest, N.C. He was 87. A 1979 inductee into the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame, Mr. Byrne was a star athlete at City College from 1935 to 1937 - leading the school to state baseball championships in his last two years. As a major leaguer, he was an All-Star whose reputation for wildness on the mound led to several years of exile from Yankee Stadium and had hitters ducking for most of his career.

He has stared at the black-and-white photo for hours - the folds in the flannel jersey, the play of shadow and light - and finally, the artist acts. He dips brush to palette, swabbing up colors. He swivels his head toward a canvas and pads, blocks and swirls. A sleeve comes to life, a big cheek, a navy-and-white cap, and finally it's Babe Ruth himself, gazing out in melancholy color, mighty arms finishing a home-run swing. Behold the work of Robert Florio, a 25-year-old man who lost use of his limbs 11 years ago and now spends much of his time with a paintbrush in his mouth, rendering images of motion and grace.

"The book 'Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Babe Ruth Baseball' by David A. Adler is a mysterious book. The book is about Cam and Eric who were in the community center when the Babe Ruth baseball disappeared. One reason why I like this book is when Cam said 'click,' she remembered all the things she saw. Another reason that I like this book is Cam is only in fifth grade and she is already a detective."-- Zhi YinHalethorpe Elementary"I enjoyed the Disney fairy tale 'Beauty and the Beast.' I think the illustrator made the pictures beautifully.

Quote: "They say that Babe Ruth did it. If the Bambino can do it, we can do it."-- Sean Casey of the Reds, who tried to keep cool with a cabbage leaf soaked in ammonia under his capIt's a fact: The Pirates have lost four straight, costing them a chance to be .500 or above at midseason for the first time since 1992.Who's hot: Giants pitcher Russ Ortiz is 7-for-9 with three RBIs in his past four starts.Who's not: Travis Lee was 1-for-19 on the Diamondbacks' eight-game road trip.On deck: The Mets send Orel Hershiser out tonight on one day's rest.

When we last visited him, Baltimore native Irwin Sternberg was being outbid in January for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, thereby saving himself a cool $3 million.But Sternberg, a successful New York tie manufacturer, didn't leave the auction empty-handed that evening. For a mere $60,000, he came away with a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Roger Maris, the two previous holders of the single-season home run record.Though a far less valuable commodity at the auction, Sternberg's ball has the more interesting -- or at least longer -- story line.

More than 200 guests crowded into the screening room of the ESPNZone at the Inner Harbor to celebrate the coming baseball season and to raise money for the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum's planned expansion into historic Camden Station at Oriole Park."

Hank Greenberg was the first Jewish superstar in baseball when he played for the Detroit Tigers in the 1930s. In 1938 the Bronx-born Greenberg hit 58 home runs, just two shy of Babe Ruth's record. Washington, D.C., filmmaker Aviva Kempner, who grew up in Detroit and idolized Greenberg for his athleticism and his religious devotion (he received a Talmudic dispensation to play on Rosh Hashana but refused to play on Yom Kippur), has made "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg," a delightful documentary that's been on the festival circuit since its debut last year.

All that could be discerned through the enthusiastic eyes of an 11-year-old child is Hank Greenberg fit the dimensions of a hero -- and, in ongoing respectful memory, still does. He played for the Detroit Tigers, was a giant of a man who hit home runs high into the sky and over faraway fences.That he was the only Jewish player in the major leagues was something the newspapers mentioned infrequently. Such a description carried absolutely no significance to a young boy impressed with Greenberg's stature, 6 feet 3 1/2, 218 pounds, and what he could do with a bat in his hands.

Cal Ripken Jr.'s 400th home run could happen tonight, or tomorrow night, but whenever he airmails the homer into the stands, the fan who ends up with the ball will have more than just a piece of history.The fan will have an ethical dilemma.Do you 1. give it to Ripken or the Orioles in exchange for a few trinkets -- the right thing to do in some circles? -- or do you, 2. catch the next Metroliner to a New York City auction house and start yelling, "Show me the money!" -- a gesture more in keeping with these big buck, merger and acquisition, millionaires-by-the-bucketful days?

The Babe Ruth League Inc., a national youth baseball organization, is naming its largest division the Cal Ripken Baseball Division.Beginning next spring, the 471,000-player division for youth aged 5 to 12 will take the name of the Orioles third baseman and his recently deceased father, a former Orioles manager.The division is currently named "Bambino," a nickname of Babe Ruth.At a Camden Yards news conference yesterday, Ripken said he hopes Cal Ripken division players will be imbued with the "Ripken way" of baseball taught by his father.

Saturday CHILDREN OF PARADISE: The 1945 French film with English subtitles concerns a mime named Baptiste and Garance, the actress he loves. The tragic tale screens at the Charles Theatre, 1711 N. Charles St., at 11 a.m. It also plays Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. and Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $6 for Saturday's screening. Call 410-727-FILM or go to thecharles.com. GET WIFF IT: Many of us probably haven't played Wiffle Ball since elementary school, so it might surprise some to learn that there are actual Wiffle Ball pros, as well as tournaments held for the sport.

Locally Palace ties Harrisburg Friday, is even with Real Maryland Crystal Palace Baltimore tied host Harrisburg, 0-0, on Friday night. The draw moved Baltimore even on points with Real Maryland in the fifth and final playoff spot in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division, but Real owns the tiebreaker. Brian Rowland earned the shutout for Baltimore. Babe Ruth Museum: : Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards will host a program and discussion with Linda Ruth Tossetti, Babe Ruth's granddaughter, and Bill Jenkinson, author of the book "The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs: Recrowning Baseball's Greatest Slugger," on Saturday at 3 p.m. Admission is free with regular paid admission to the museum.

I am not sure anyone can top Jeff Gillooly, the ex-hubby of skater Tonya Harding, who planned the attack on fellow U.S. skater Nancy Kerrigan. He's the Babe Ruth of bad sporting spouses. But who else is in the discussion? Who really grated on your nerves? My guess is Joumana Kidd, Jason's wife, has to be up there for sheer lunacy. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/cornersportsbar)

Oh, was Linda Ruth Tosetti ever asking for it. Raise yet another pedestal for her grandfather, Babe Ruth? Make Jackie Robinson share Major League Baseball's singular honor with someone who seems saturated in praise from every segment of American culture? Pit these two iconic figures, and all the accompanying baggage, against each other? Tosetti wants Ruth's number retired throughout baseball, too, and from here, the answers she gave colleague Rick Maese last week to the obvious question - why?

If recently released Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon's career is over, the Orioles will go down as the last entry on his pitching resume. It was the Orioles who, in a game about a week ago at Camden Yards, routed Chacon for six runs, eight hits and four walks over five innings as the Orioles went on to win, 7-5. In getting lit up by Baltimore, Chacon's already so-so year took a decided nose dive, with his ERA inflating to just over 5.00. Not surprisingly, the Astros planned to reposition Chacon where he might be less exposed and get him out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen.

The debate rises up from the history books. The question is one of honor. And the woman at the center of it all swears she'll never stop swinging for the fences. Just like her grandfather. "I'm not going away," she says. "If they think this girl is gonna go anywhere and shut up, they're dead wrong." Linda Ruth Tosetti wants Major League Baseball to retire the number worn by her grandfather - Babe Ruth. If Tosetti gets her way, No. 3 would never be worn by another major leaguer again, similar to how baseball retired Jackie Robinson's No. 42 in 1997.

In the area surrounding Lot No. 126, Section G of Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, dozens and dozens of headstones and grave markers rise from the ground. For an insect, it's a skyline that would match that of any great city. For Paul Harris, however, it has been the source of great consternation. You see, while the surrounding area is filled with marble tributes and commemorative granite, Lot No. 126, Section G is bare, save the yellowed grass that has covered this area for decades. Harris, a retired attorney, first visited the site in 1995 and just couldn't shake the idea from his head.

Tommy Byrne, a Baltimore-born southpaw who pitched in four World Series as a member of the New York Yankees, died of congestive heart failure Thursday in Wake Forest, N.C. He was 87. A 1979 inductee into the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame, Mr. Byrne was a star athlete at City College from 1935 to 1937 - leading the school to state baseball championships in his last two years. As a major leaguer, he was an All-Star whose reputation for wildness on the mound led to several years of exile from Yankee Stadium and had hitters ducking for most of his career.

He has stared at the black-and-white photo for hours - the folds in the flannel jersey, the play of shadow and light - and finally, the artist acts. He dips brush to palette, swabbing up colors. He swivels his head toward a canvas and pads, blocks and swirls. A sleeve comes to life, a big cheek, a navy-and-white cap, and finally it's Babe Ruth himself, gazing out in melancholy color, mighty arms finishing a home-run swing. Behold the work of Robert Florio, a 25-year-old man who lost use of his limbs 11 years ago and now spends much of his time with a paintbrush in his mouth, rendering images of motion and grace.

While the first day of round-robin play at the Cal Ripken 12-and-under World Series had its share of highlights yesterday, the buzz around the Ripken Youth Baseball Academy and Cal Sr.'s Yard was the performance in the Home Run Derby the night before by Carlos Munoz of Mexico. Munoz, a 12-year old left-handed hitter whose team will play against the Dominican Republic today at noon, put on a show, hitting 18 homers before making 10 outs. Munoz became the first player in any competition the past two years to hit the Courtyard by Marriott hotel behind the right-field fence - called the warehouse - at Cal Sr.'s Yard, a mini-replica of Camden Yards.