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www.yankton.net Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan ■ Wednesday, July 21, 2010 PAGE 9 Jennie Finch To Retire Next Month, Focus On Family lished themselves as the No. 1 team in the Gold Medal Pitcher, Winner Of Seven Straight World Championship Leaving Competitive Softball world. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Olympic gold I’d be able to enjoy and appreciate and be beauty and charm landed her a place in split this season between the Houston “She’s such a great ambassador for medalist Jennie Finch announced Tuesday a part of, it’s been incredible.” pop culture. She struck out some of the big Astros and Triple-A Round Rock, have a 4- that,” U.S. coach Jay Miller said. “That’s that she will retire next month, bringing an Finch was much more than a pretty face leagues’ best hitters in appearances on year-old son, Ace, and hope to have more going to be the most difficult thing to end to a 10-year career in which she helped as she took over for Lisa Fernandez as the “This Week in Baseball,” competed on children. replace.” softball blossom in the United States. most recognized player in a sport enjoying “Celebrity Apprentice” and made the The couple have spent about two weeks Finch hopes that eliminating travel and The dominating pitcher will play her growing popularity. Her 60-game run rounds on late-night talk shows. together at their Arizona home over the training will give her more time to help final games with the U.S. national team this stretched over nearly two years and “She set the standard for softball in a past year, Finch said, and the world cham- spread the sport, through her own camps week at the World Cup of Softball in included the 2001 WCWS title, a dominance new era of being able to be feminine and pionships in Venezuela meant 14 days and possibly with a role in USA Softball or Oklahoma City. She’ll then finish the rest of that carried over to the national team, play this sport,” Mendoza said. “Not that away from her family. as a coach or team owner. the National Pro Fastpitch season with the where she combined with the likes of you have to be feminine to play this sport, “I just feel like it gets harder and harder “I hope to stay involved,” she said. “It’s Chicago Bandits before calling it quits at Fernandez and Cat Osterman to make up but I see hundreds of thousands of little every year with Ace getting older and time been such a big part of my life and I can’t the age of 29 to focus on her family. the world’s best pitching rotation through girls now with glitter headbands, hot pink away from my husband and even family imagine my life without it.” The 6-foot-2 Finch was a standout at the early part of the decade. bats, makeup. I’m not saying that every girl events such as birthdays and friends’ wed- Even now, Finch gets a rush out of put- Arizona before becoming an icon with the “For Jennie Finch, she’s a stud on the has to do that but when I was growing up, dings and things that I’ve always just ting on the red, white and blue and hearing U.S. team, going 32-0 her junior year and field and everyone’s going to love her while it wasn’t like that. missed out on because of softball,” Finch a home crowd chant “U-S-A” — something putting together 60 consecutive wins — she’s playing but no one is going to forget “She has created a new era of softball said. she’ll experience a few final times at the both NCAA records. She won gold at the her because of the person that she is,” U.S. player, and it’s for those softball players — While many of her veteran teammates World Cup beginning Thursday night. The 2004 Olympics in Athens and silver four outfielder Jessica Mendoza said. “That is those little girls out there — that want to walked away from the game after the U.S. Bandits’ last regular-season game is sched- years later in Beijing. what she has over almost any other person be cutesy with the bows and the glitter and lost to Japan in the gold-medal game in uled for Aug. 22 at home in Elgin, Ill. This month, she helped the U.S. win its that’s at the top of their sport. still be that dirty jock. Covered head to toe 2008, Finch stuck around and helped with “Right now in my career, it’s like I’m seventh straight world championship. “She’s the most popular person in our in dirt but she’s got her hair all perfect with an unsuccessful bid to get softball added having more fun than I’ve ever had, so it’s “This whole career has been way more sport. How many other sports can you say a bow.” back into the Olympics. It won’t be played kind of like, “Man, I can’t stop now,”’ she than I ever even imagined or dreamed,” that their most popular player is the best Finch, who will turn 30 in September, at the 2012 or 2016 games. said. “I’m playing first base and pitching Finch said in an interview with The person to the fans than anyone else?” said it’s time to turn her focus to her fami- As one of few veterans left, she became and hitting. I feel like I’m almost better than Associated Press. “The opportunities that Coupled with her softball skills, Finch’s ly. She and pitcher Casey Daigle, who has a team leader as the Americans re-estab- I’ve ever been. It’s like, “You’re going to walk away like this?”’ SEC Facing Off- SDGA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Favre: No Several young golfers Field Troubles spent the last two days in Yankton for the Deadline For SDGA Junior Before Media Days Championships at Fox BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Bar brawls Run Golf Course. Decision and NCAA investigations will be hot topics MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Brett at the Southeastern Conference media days LEFT: Yankton’s Megan Favre shared a laugh with Brad — not just national championships. Mingo places her ball Childress about the two of them Troubling events have made headlines and eyes a putt during butting heads over the direction of in the two weeks leading up to the three- Tuesday’s final round. the offense during a recent visit the day SEC event that begins Wednesday. Minnesota Vikings coach made to There was a bar brawl involving Tennessee RIGHT: Kyle Kopplin of Hattiesburg, Miss. players and there are potential NCAA trou- Piedmont chips onto What Favre didn’t share with bles brewing at Florida and South Carolina. the green during Childress is any decision about his The latest — and potentially biggest — Tuesday’s final round. future. issue arose with a report Monday that Favre told USA Today on Florida and the NCAA are investigating an BELOW: Aberdeen’s Tuesday that Childress stopped to allegation that former offensive lineman Tyler Zahn works out of visit him on his way home from Maurkice Pouncey got $100,000 from a rep- the sand during vacation in Florida. The two chatted Tuesday’s final round. about a lot of things, but no dead- resentative of a sports agent before last line was imposed for the quarter- season ended. back to announce a decision about The NCAA is also looking into a possible returning for a 20th NFL season. rules violation involving South Carolina “Our visit was great,” Favre told tight end Weslye Saunders. the newspaper. “I think the world of SEC commissioner Mike Slive declined him (and) his patience. He and I to discuss specific issues involving Florida joked about how there were some and South Carolina, but said in an inter- rocky times (between them) last view Monday with The Associated Press year. ... We’re both competitors, that he would like the NCAA at some point that happens.” to consider changes to rules involving Favre and Childress had a very agents. public spat in December last season “The agent issue is one that’s been of after the two of them argued over concern not only to us but I think to every- play-calling in a loss at Carolina. one associated with intercollegiate athlet- They resolved their differences and ics and I do think it’s time to re-examine the Vikings advanced to the NFC some of the NCAA rules that relate to title game, where they lost in over- agents,” he said. “I have felt for a long time time. that it would be helpful to be able to pro- Favre injured his ankle in that game and had surgery on it earlier vide student-athletes with more informa- this summer and has been throwing tion and more opportunities to learn what to receivers at Oak Grove High their professional potential might be than School near his home while to test it is currently allowed by NCAA rules.” out. Florida coach Urban Meyer — and “After almost nine weeks, it’s not Pouncey’s brother, Mike — are scheduled where I would like it to be, but I’m to appear at media day on Wednesday working at it,” he said. “Maybe it afternoon. never gets to where I want it to be. Slive said the SEC had already taken Forty years old ... three surgeries ... steps to help member schools deal with that’s all you need to know.” agent issues before the recent NCAA inves- He will turn 41 in October and is tigations.