Quite the stink back in April when I opined that I didn't think Rangers' pitcher Colby Lewis should miss a start to attend the birth of his second child.
I stand by that. I still root for Lewis to be a good pitcher and don't really give a rat's ass if he's a good dad. Plenty of good fathers -- including my own -- to hang around in my life, but only one professional baseball team I care about.
As part of baseball's Paternity List, the Rangers' Ian Kinsler and Alexi Ogando also have missed games this season, and earlier this month the Indians' Jack Hannahan left his job to be with his wife.
Now comes word that 1310 AM The Ticket's Bob Sturm is taking it up a notch. Sturm -- half of The Ticket's popular mid-day BaD Radio with Dan McDowell -- announced Monday that he will be, starting next week, off the air for four to six weeks while adopting a 5-year-old boy in Guatemala.
If I'm going to give props to Richard Hunter for adopting one of Michael Vick's dogs, gotta throw love to Sturm as well for greatly improving -- and perhaps saving -- the life of an orphan human. As someone who misses work only for vanity (NeoGraft) or to spend more time at his second career, they're both bigger-hearted dudes than I'll ever be. End of discussion.
Unlike baseball players, Sturm deserves zero criticism. Neither does 105.3 The Fan's Gavin Dawson, who recently missed a week while his girlfriend gave birth to a daughter. Why? Because those guys -- unlike baseball players -- don't get three to four months of vacation each year to take care of personal business. Pitchers make about 30 starts a year; Radio hosts are on the air about 250 days a year.
And, because, let's face it, the absence of a single radio host can't sink a station like the void of a star player can derail a team.
You know who agrees with me? A Dallas Cowboy named ...
David Buehler.
The second-year kicker's girlfriend, Brittany Pigrenet, is due to have the couple's first child on September 7, just four days before the team's season opener at the New York Jets. They will name their son Bryson but -- regardless of the actual delivery -- will Buehler be there for the birth?
"No way," Buehler said last week. "I mean, it's going to be a life-changing thing to become a father. But if it happens to where I'd have to miss work, I can't do it. In fact, Brittany wouldn't let me do it. I want what's best for the Cowboys. My job is pretty dang important to me and the NFL is a business. If I left for a day or two I might not have a job when I got back."
If Buehler had any doubt before, he certainly doesn't after today, as the Cowboys have signed former Cincinnati Bengals' and Washington Redskins' kicker Shayne Graham to compete with him.
Hang in there, baby.
