Hockey team cashes in on infamous anniversary
Poor Steve Bartman still can't catch a break.
In fact, the infamous Cubs fan still is "Catching Hell" -- the title of a recent ESPN documentary about him -- eight years after he reached for a foul ball and disrupted a potential crucial catch by Chicago left fielder Moises Alou during Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series, won by the Florida Marlins.
Bartman had to be escorted from Wrigley Field by security guards and received police protection for a while before going into virtual hiding.
He didn't appear in "Catching Hell" and reportedly has rejected several lucrative interview requests.
But that hasn't stopped the Dayton Gems pro hockey team from "celebrating" the eighth anniversary of Bartman's nightmare by offering him a free ticket to their sarcastic "Salute to Steve Bartman Night" on Oct. 14.
Any fan dressed as Bartman -- complete with a Cubs hat, green turtleneck and headphones -- will receive a free ticket to the Central Hockey League preseason game.
"While our staff will be dressed like Steve we would like to remind our fans to refrain from reaching over the glass for stray pucks," said Gems aptly named team president (Mean) Joe Greene, who spearheaded the promotion.
Hasn't Bartman -- who was already a lifelong Cubs fan -- suffered enough? Let's just hope he hasn't become a Red Sox fan. There's only so much one man can take.
■ SCORING IN THE STANDS -- It has been said that a tie is like kissing your sister. But a couple that attended a 0-0 draw Saturday in a professional soccer match in Germany would beg to differ.
Less than 16 minutes into a Bundesliga game between Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim that was played in front of a sellout crowd of 30,150, a couple was photographed going well beyond kissing in the stands.
"I thought it did not look right," a reporter told the German tabloid Bild. "They had absolutely no inhibitions. Both pulled their pants down and went at it. The people around them apparently were not disturbed."
That's not surprising, considering the brazen exhibition proved to be the most entertaining portion of the scoreless match.
■ NO FIELD OF DREAMS -- It was said in "National Lampoon's Animal House" that fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. Colin Ferring, a Division III college football player, isn't fat, but he definitely needs to work on the other two issues.
Ferring, an 18-year-old running back at Coe College, was arrested Saturday night for trying to steal a utility vehicle from the school's campus in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He was cited for possession of alcohol under the legal age, public intoxication and interference with official acts after he allegedly took a John Deere Gator and drove off with four passengers.
Police initiated a traffic stop, but Ferring, who had been driving, took off running. He was caught after a short chase, and his apparent lack of speed might explain why he hasn't seen any game action this season for the Kohawks. But Ferring, who resisted arrest, did prove tough to take down, as officers had to use a Taser to subdue him.
When he awoke Sunday in the Linn County Jail, he reportedly wondered aloud, "Is this hell?"
No, it's Iowa.
COMPILED BY TODD DEWEY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
