On September 6, 1995, Cal Ripken broke the most storied record in baseball, Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games. Ripken played all of his games with the Baltimore Orioles, a rarity in an era when baseball players move from team to team seeking better deals. The 19-time All Star retired from the Baltimore Orioles in 2001 with 2,632 consecutive games played and over 3,000 hits. However, Ripken’s most enduring legacy and gift to the sport of baseball may come from the work he has done since his retirement.

One of the first things Ripken did upon retirement was to announce the creation of a facility dedicated to developing baseball at a grass-roots level. A Maryland native, Ripken chose Aberdeen, Maryland as the site of the facility which currently includes a state-of-the-art minor league ballpark and a youth baseball training academy. The Aberdeen facility features youth baseball fields designed to mimic famous major league ball parks like Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Wrigley Field. The Aberdeen facility hosts a “world series” each year that draws 15 teams of 11 and 12 year old players from all over the world.

Ripken is also devoted to building values through sports. Together with his brother, Bill, Ripken has penned two best selling books aimed at parents and youth coaches offering coaching tips, instructional methods and information on the Ripken family’s philosophy of sports including having fun and practicing good sportsmanship.

Cal and Bill Ripken are the only brothers in the history of major league baseball to have played for their father at the same time. In honor of their father, the brothers started a foundation dedicated to teaching baseball to economically disadvantaged children across the country. The foundation has undertaken such projects as refurbishing inner-city ball fields, and donating sports equipment to school systems. The foundation’s work has enabled disadvantaged children to learn values through baseball and to receive training and instruction that they might never have received otherwise.

In addition to his work with the Aberdeen facility and the foundation, Ripken is a sought-after corporate speaker on topics such as teamwork, perseverance and leadership. In addition to his coaching books, Ripken also penned a best-selling biography in 1997 that told of his pursuit of “the streak” and how it changed his life. Ripken has a weekly baseball talk show on XM satellite radio that he co-hosts with his brother, Billy. The show is a wide-ranging discussion of many different baseball-related topics.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including
Baseball, Games, and
Recreation.

What is A1 Grand Prix?
A1 Grand Prix is the first opportunity in motorsport for nations to compete on a level playing field. The technology is deliberately equalised so performance is determined by human bravery and skill. Team and driver combine to represent their country and compete against other countries.

A1 Grand Prix is a new sport — The World Cup of Motorsport. Putting driver up against driver and country up against country for the first time ever, A1 Grand Prix (a.k.a. The World Cup of Motorsport), will bring together 25 nations representing 80 per cent of the world’s population to compete on a level playing field.

A1 Grand Prix has created a new way for national and international brands to promote themselves to a global market. Through The World Cup of Motorsport they can join forces with their national teams to be part of this unique and brand new sporting event.

What does ‘A1′ mean?
The name ‘A1′ encapsulates the two key aspects of the World Cup of Motorsport, unity and excellence.

In most languages, ‘A1′ is a term used to describe the very best and this is what A1 Grand Prix is all about: the pinnacle of driver skill and national pride combined.

The first ever race was held on the 25th September at Brands Hatch in England, for pictures and the race review click here

Written by the webmaster of All About All Sport

When you have that bar discussion if Mitch Richmond or Robert Horry belongs in the Hall-of-Fame, remember that answer is probably no. Several once sure-fire Famers aren’t guaranteed anymore, not after Dominique Wilkins, 9-time all-star and former slam-dunk champ was skipped from the Hall last year. Gary Payton is in the same boat as Wilkins, and might not get into Springfield as quickly as he might have hoped. But why exactly did Wilkins get skipped?



Let’s get one thing straight: the NBA has a Hall-of-Fame system might just be worse than Baseball’s. For some reason, there is no “NBA Hall-of-Fame”; instead we get the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. The difference in this politically correct age that we live in is that nobody gives a damn about any basketball Hall, other than the one that the pros go in to. Now all factions of basketball greats go into just one Hall-of-Fame, so we notice some other stars, if only by accident.



It’s a decent idea on paper, but you know it’s a failure when Dominique Wilkins doesn’t get in. The most bizarre portion of the Hall inductees is that they elect in everyone, even players who played in the Europe leagues. Of course, Wilkins played in the European leagues, but I guess that was missed somehow in the voting. Why exactly should we care about non-American athletes-I’m pretty sure they don’t care about us. Tell me how a guy named Drazen Dalipagic can get in, and Dominique Wilkins cannot?


Casual fans will say that he might not deserve to get in because he never won a ring. Of course, that argument has to be nullified when you sit down and realize that Darko Milicic, Isaiah Rider and Tyrone Lue all have rings. Are you going to award a guy who’s the 12th man on a championship team more than a great player who stuck with one lousy team? If you did, then welcome to the Hall Will Purdue.



There is but one feasible possibility that Wilkins is not inducted in Springfield right now: he didn’t finish with a legacy. Reggie Miller didn’t win a title, but he was great up to his final playoff appearance. That’s why he’s a lot safer to get in than Dominique or Gary Payton. ‘Nique finished his career very sloppily. In his final 4 seasons, Wilkins played for 5 teams over a span of 6 years. Dominique missed the entire 95-96 and 97-98 seasons, playing time in Europe when he wasn’t interested in other teams offers. While his stats were just as great with the Clippers, Celtics and Spurs as they were with Atlanta, fans just couldn’t get over him in a Magic jersey.

Payton is the same. His career essentially ended when he left Seattle. Spending his last years with the Bucks, Lakers, Celtics and Heat is no legacy. He too didn’t win a ring, although we’ll have to wait and see on this year. I’d like to see him get in, but not before Dominique Wilkins, the human highlight film, gets in.

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