Sutcliffe recovers in time for All-Star Game

Rick Sutcliffe looked like a 6-year-old on Christmas morning.
“Guess where I’m going,” the former Cy Young Award winner asked earlier this week, sporting a Cheshire cat grin.
“I’m broadcasting the All-Star Game in New York.”
When Sutcliffe, the lead color analyst for ESPN, was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this summer, he made a promise to himself.
“I had two goals,” said Sutcliffe, the Van Horn High School legend who makes his home in Lee’s Summit, “first, I wanted to live. Second, I wanted to get back, get healthy enough, so I could broadcast the All-Star Game.”
Sutcliffe’s best buddy, Rick Taylor, knew that was a long shot.
“We didn’t want to say anything to discourage Rick, but you could just tell that the doctors didn’t think there was any chance of that happening,” Taylor said.
“But they don’t know Sut like I do.”
Taylor told me that Sutcliffe would announce the game, even before the big red head was given permission by his doctor.
“That was Sut’s goal – and when he puts his mind to something, it usually happens.”
Sutcliffe will be accompanied by his wife, Robin, and will more than likely be the life of a few Manhattan parties.
He’s already received invites from Derek Jeter and the folks at NIKE, and his buddy Bill Murray wants him to go skydiving in August.
“Let me get through the All-Star Game,” Sutcliffe said, “then we’ll talk about skydiving.”
n A familiar face manned one of the promotional tents at the 20th annual Wood Bat Invitational.
Former William Chrisman slugger Ted Cox, who recently graduated with a marketing degree from Park University, was introducing his new business, Talent Across America.
Cox, who at one time held the Bears single-season mark in homers (9) and RBIs (41), started a recruiting service that could be a boon to perplexed parents who don’t know how to make the largest number of college coaches aware of their son’s or daughter’s talent.
Cox’s company will put together a CD with all the pertinent information on the prep athlete, including personal information, academics, athletic and fitness information and the entire list of stats from their prep career.
“I wish I’d have had something like this when I was looking for a college,” said Cox, who received a small scholarship to William Jewell, but finished his collegiate career at Park.
“My dad and I put something like this together when I was at Chrisman, and we used that foundation to put our brochure together. I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
The four-color brochure comes in either a three-fold format or can be laminated.
Parents can print their own brochures once they provide Cox’s company with the information on their child.
And because Cox was a standout high school athlete, he can also council parents and their kids on the way to be approach the recruiting process.
For more information call 816-803-8970 or long onto www.TalentAcrossAmerica.com.
n Robert Downey Jr., might be “Iron Man” at the movie theaters, but Matt McHenry is the Blue Springs Rod’s Sports A’s version of iron man.
He has caught 12 straight games including all five at the American Legion Springfield, Mo., tournament - which the A’s won - and all four games for the 4-0 A’s at the 20th annual Wood Bat Invitational.
“I missed most of my senior year at Blue Springs after I had shoulder surgery Jan. 15,” McHenry said. “So this is great. Zach (Sutton) has some problems with his elbow, so I’m getting the chance to spend a lot of time behind the plate. And I love it.
“It’s a cliché, but any guy on this team would do anything to help the team win. If I need to catch all the games until Zach gets healthy I’ll do it.”
McHenry is also swinging a healthy bat, as he had five hits in the first three A’s wins.