"The Daily Rock"

December 10: Chris Evert

Chrissie is my all-time favorite female athlete....who is your favorite female athlete?

 

Just the facts, Ma'am....

I believe Simpson did it, but I also believe the verdict was correct (by law). Johnnie Cochran was the Salesman of the Year that year....he asked the jury during his closing argument to study 10 different ways they could feel about the case that he posted on a chart in the front of the courtroom. The descriptions progressed (paraphrasing) from #10 "He didn't do it, I'm sure of it" all the up to #2 "I think he did it, but there are some things about this case that cause me to have doubt". #1 said, "he did it, I'm sure of it".....Cochran gave them a few minutes and then stated to the jury, "if just one of you feels that the right answer is anywhere between #10 and #2 you are compelled by California law to find my client NOT GUILTY". Here are the reasons many on the jury could not answer #1,
from PROVING THE CASE: THE SCIENCE OF DNA: DNA EVIDENCE IN THE O.J. SIMPSON TRIAL, William C. Thompson, Professor, Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine, California:

Nicole Brown Simpson's Blood Was Planted On the Sock. The blood matching Nicole Brown Simpson that was found on the sock was a large, thick stain, slightly larger than the size of a quarter. It had a slightly crusty appearance and made the underlying material of the sock stiff and puckered. Surely this stain would have been noticed, the defense argued, had it been on the sock at the time the sock was collected. Yet on three separate occasions the sock was examined and the stain was not noticed. On June 13, 1994, criminalist Dennis Fung collected the socks in O.J. Simpson's bedroom. At that time he was conducting a search for blood in Simpson's residence. He noted no blood on the socks. On June 22, 1994, the socks were examined at the LAPD laboratory by Michelle Kestler, a laboratory supervisor, and two experts for the defense, Michael Baden and Barbara Wolf. They noted no blood. On June 29, 1994, the socks were examined again as part of an inventory of evidence ordered by Judge Ito. The express purpose of the inventory was to determine what blood samples might be available to be split with the defense. No blood was observed on the sock. The laboratory notes say "blood search, none obvious." Then on August 4, 1994, the blood stain was discovered. The defense argued that this sequence of events makes it obvious that the blood was planted on the sock sometime after June 29, 1994.

Defense experts Dr. Henry Lee and Professor Herbert MacDonnell examined the sock and concluded that the blood stain had been pressed onto it while it was lying flat, and not while someone's leg was in the sock. The blood had soaked through one side of the sock and left a "wet transfer" on the opposite inner wall at a point that would have been directly under the stain had the sock been lying flat. The wet transfer is inconsistent with the prosecution theory, the defense argued, because Simpson's leg would have blocked such a transfer had he been wearing the sock when the blood was deposited on it during the murders. Based on Professor MacDonnell's estimates of the drying rate of blood on the sock, the defense argued that by the time Simpson got home and removed the socks, the blood would have dried, making a wet transfer impossible at that point.

O.J. Simpson's Blood Was Planted on the Back Gate. Most of the blood samples from the crime scene were collected on June 13, 1994, the day after the murders; but the three blood stains on the rear gate were not collected until July 3, 1994. According to the prosecution account, these stains were simply missed during the initial collection and were only noticed later. According to the defense account, these stains were not collected the day after the crime because they were not there at that time. The defense offered a powerful piece of evidence to support the planting theory. A photograph taken the day after the crime shows no blood in the area of the rear gate where the largest and most prominent stain was later found. Barry Scheck introduced this photo during his cross-examination of criminalist Dennis Fung. After displaying a photograph of the stains that Fung collected on July 3, Scheck then showed the photograph of the rear gate taken on June 13. In one of the more memorable moments of the trial, Scheck pointed to the area where the largest stain should have been and demanded, "Where is it, Mr. Fung?" Mr. Fung had no answer, nor was Scheck's question ever answered by the prosecution.

The planting theory is also supported by evidence that the chemical preservative ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ("EDTA") was found in the stain, the defense argued. The victims' blood samples were stored at the LAPD laboratory in tubes that contained EDTA. When the defense first raised the theory that the blood on the sock had been planted, the prosecution sent the sock to the FBI laboratory and asked that the stain be tested for EDTA. Absence of EDTA would presumably have been taken as proof that the stain did not come from the laboratory tubes. But the tests performed by FBI agent-examiner Roger Martz did show evidence of the presence of EDTA. When the prosecution declined to call Martz as a witness, he was called by the defense. Martz admitted that the stain showed traces of EDTA but opined that the quantity was too low to be consistent with blood from a reference tube. The defense then presented Dr. Fredrick Reiders, who reviewed Martz test results and expressed the opinion that the quantities of EDTA present in the stain were indeed consistent with the stain originating in blood from a reference tube, and are too high to be consistent with blood from a living human being. The defense argued that Dr. Reiders was a better qualified and more credible witness than Martz, who does not have an advanced degree, and that Reider's conclusion, if true, proves that the blood on the sock was planted.
The planting theory was also supported by the FBI tests, which showed evidence of EDTA in the samples from the back gate.

 

That's tough. I'd have to say Mary Lou Retton cause I had my picture taken with her and Reggie Jackson at a sporting goods show a few years ago. She was very nice and down to earth. They both worked for Pony footwear at the time. Chris Evert would be in my top 5.

 

A funny Chris Evert story for you Stetchy....

My husband and I met Chris Evert once at a cocktail party before the US Open. I mentioned that I was a big fan of hers as a child and watched her play in person when I was little when my mom was volunteering at the Indianapolis Clay Court Championships. I thought I was being complimentary, but she took it the wrong way and wasn't too pleased that I mentioned that I was a young child when I was watching her. I felt terrible. She didn't stay around to talk with us much longer.

After that, we were sitting at the bar and Billie Jean King came up and had a drink with us. She sat and spoke with us for quite a while and encouraged me to return to adult tennis, which I did in when we lived in Richmond. It was a fun conversation and a great evening.

 

In honor of my late father I'd have to say Gabriella Sabatini...he would get just stupid when she was on tv , and while was a big tennis guy it really had nothing to do with her game!

 

Anna Kournikova!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP5-GGhdFy0&feature=related

 

December 11: Charaties

Special Olympics is the charity that I admire the most.....what is your favorite charity?

 

American Red Cross

 

Great organization, provided my wife and I with plane tickets to come home for my fathers funeral, while I was in the military. God bless them for all they do for our armed forces and the general public as well!

 

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

A child stricken with cancer or any life-threatning illness has to be the most devastating situation that a parent could be faced with. However, at St. Judes they provide not only "world class" treatment, but emotional support as well. I have been a long time supporter of St. Judes and have followed the stories of the bravest kids in the world, some of the stories have happy endings, but far too many end as a tragic loss. Just imagine a kid losing not only his childhood innocence, but life as well. These kids are fighters and endure severe pain, not only from the disease itself, but from the medication and treatments as well. Sometimes we as parents dwell on winning or losing on the baseball diamond, while some parents are faced with the life or death of a child...makes baseball seem trivial at best.
http://www.stjude.org/

Also NASCAR's Jeff Gordon was generous enough to open "Jeff Gordons Childrens Hospital" at NE Medical Center in Concord, NC. A great place to volunteer or take a team for a few hours. These are normal kids that like playing video games or listening to their IPods like any other kid, at first it's a shock to see their condition but they love the company and just hanging out.
http://www.jeffgordonchildrenshospital.org/vol_don.cfm

"Making Heather Smile" ​

Heather is here in the atrium of the Danny Thomas Research Center for Kicker, the golden retriever. He reminds her of her dogs back home, and besides, she loves all pets. She drops to her knees and hugs him tightly. She strokes his thick, clean fur and tells him hello. He leans into her.
Heather’s mother, Terri, stands at a distance, watching her daughter take comfort from their Tuesday morning tradition. Eleven-year-old Heather is slim and bald, and to the world outside St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she looks heartbreakingly fragile.
Only Terri knows Heather’s strength. She’s watched her daughter endure brain surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and progenitor cell transplants. These are medical procedures, and Terri thanks God for them. They have helped her little girl have a chance at beating the brain tumor called medulloblastoma, which doctors discovered in January 2008. Kicker and these visits have helped Heather too.
Kicker didn’t shrink the tumor or keep it from coming back, but he put a smile on Heather’s face and made her want to wake up every Tuesday. And that’s a great gift when your child has cancer.
Ever since they were 7 years old, Heather and her best friend have wanted to be veterinarians. They played pretend games together—one would be the dog, and the other would be the vet. When they’re grownups, they’d like to open their own animal clinic together. Terri very much wants this for her daughter.
During her long months of treatment away from home in Florida, Heather ached for her two dogs and two cats. She talked by phone with her older brother, urging him to love the animals as often as possible on her behalf. Each time she had to go inpatient, her mother packed pictures of the pets, and they flipped through the photos together as they passed the hours.
“I just miss them,” she told her mom.
One night during her inpatient chemotherapy treatment, Heather began to cry. On that particular night, she missed her cats. Two of her St. Jude nurses talked for a little bit, then came into Heather’s room and got down on their knees and began purring. “I’m Pepsi,” one of the nurses said. “I’m Zoe,” said the other nurse. Those are the names of Heather’s cats.
Of all the moments that have touched their family during Heather’s time at St. Jude—and there have been many—this one stands out.
“I thought it was amazing and so personal,” said Terri.
A few weeks after they arrived at St. Jude, Terri learned of the pet visits. The specially trained dogs of the Delta Society are brought into the atrium of the Danny Thomas Research Center every Tuesday morning for an hour, and the children who feel well enough can come say hello. The program is called Doggie Daze, and it’s coordinated by the Child Life department at St. Jude. Terri sensed these visits would be just the thing to lift Heather’s spirits. She worked with the St. Jude staff to rearrange Heather’s radiation schedule so Heather could visit the dogs. Heather was thrilled.
When Heather felt well enough, she got down on the ground to play with the dogs. Otherwise, she rolled up in her wheelchair, and the dogs walked up and laid their heads on her lap.
Heather loves all the dogs, but Kicker the golden retriever is her absolute favorite. When her cousin sent her a golden retriever stuffed animal as a present, she named it Kicker and bought it a pair of sunglasses. The real Kicker has his own pair of sunglasses, so Heather took a picture of the two dogs together, looking cool.
Heather sleeps with her Kicker stuffed animal, but in a few days she’ll be going home and she’ll have the real thing. She imagines that moment. How nice it will feel to hug her pets again. Her dogs were puppies when she left them, but months have passed and now they’re grownups. Heather has changed too.
With the help of St. Jude, she has battled cancer and won. She may look weak, but she’s actually strong. Her mom believes her friends at St. Jude have made all the difference.​

Heather has turned 12 since this interview took place. She continues doing well, and her scans show no evidence of disease.​