Tug Mcgraw

Mark McGraw, son of former Phillies relief pitcher Tug McGraw, was charged yesterday with raping a Temple University sophomore at her campus dormitory on Sunday, police said. McGraw, accompanied by his father and an attorney, turned himself over to police at the department's Sex Crimes Unit in the 1700 block of Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. He was charged with rape, indecent assault, indecent exposure, simple assault, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint, police said.

Silly you, you probably thought Tug McGraw, erstwhile Phillies star, was out of baseball. "Oh, no," McGraw, 45, said yesterday, "I still pitch semipro for Wilmington Truck Body. In fact, we won 13-0 last night, and the Tugger pitched four innings of shutout ball. " But the Tugger's real job these days is covering sports for Channel 6. Long gone are the days of those "You Gotta Believe" pieces, punctuated by the smiley faces. Now he reports on ex-teammates and friends, such as Mike Schmidt.

He wasn't a statesman, a historian or a college professor, but he had been asked to come and talk to students at Henderson High School about the Constitution. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the task, at times fumbling for ways to apply his life experiences to the tenets of the 200-year-old document. But former baseball star Tug McGraw's constitutional pitch turned out to be a big hit. McGraw's visit to the high school in West Chester was one of many ways that area students celebrated the bicentennial of the Constitution.

I have a problem with the deification of Tug McGraw. I'm sure he was a nice, fan-friendly, fun guy, but I've never been able to look at him the same way after the details of his relationship with his son, Tim, came out. According to the Daily News, Tug never sought any contact with Tim or offered any support. And after meeting Tim at age 11, Tug went on to ignore multiple letters from his son. Tug claimed to be uncertain that Tim was his son, but that's a pitiful excuse.

THE MANY affectionate eulogies for Tug McGraw have rightly recalled his courage, on and off the field, and his fun-loving personality. But too few have done justice to Tug's intelligence and craft. Red Smith got it right 30 years ago. "Tug McGraw," Smith wrote, "is left-handed and lighthearted and not necessarily more predictable than the screwball he throws, but he is no dummy. " I didn't appreciate Tug's devotion to pitching as an art until he had been out of baseball for four years.

Backstage in his dressing room at the Saginaw Civic Center, Tim McGraw opened a bottle of beer and asked: "How far is South Bend from here?" Wearing a wide-brimmed, black cowboy hat and boots with toes sharp enough to be lethal weapons, McGraw had just wrapped up a concert date in front of a packed house and posed for pictures with a delegation of teenaged fans. One of the hottest new names out of Nashville - his "Not a Moment Too Soon" is the top-selling country album in America, highlighted by the controversial hit single "Indian Outlaw" - McGraw was scheduled to climb back on the bus and head to South Bend, Ind., for an appearance at Notre Dame.

No matter what museum curators and other experts might say, taste in art is a personal affair. We all respond to different kinds of images and techniques of art-making. So what would happen if ordinary citizens - that is, nonspecialists in art - were given the chance to create their own exhibition? The answer will emerge Sunday when the Museum of American Art of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts opens an unusual show called "Philadelphia's Choice. " It's a group of 48 paintings and two sculptures chosen from the museum's permanent collection by 17 area residents.

Andy Belmont drew inspiration from Tug McGraw's chest-thumping antics as a relief pitcher for the 1980 world champion Phillies. Today, Belmont hopes to return the favor as McGraw recovers from surgery to remove a brain tumor. Belmont's No. 91 Pontiac will carry two special messages - "Get Well Tug McGraw" and "You Gotta Believe" - in this afternoon's Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. "Having grown up near Philly, I had to do something," said Belmont, a Penndel native.

IT STARTED innocently, as many traditions do. Thirty years ago, baseball barely observed St. Patrick's Day during spring training. Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, proud Irishman that he was, always made sure that corned beef and cabbage was the dinner entree at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. That was about it. And then Tug McGraw decided to have a little fun. It's a well-worn tale by now. How McGraw, who had proclaimed St. Patrick's Day his favorite holiday, conspired to have his entire uniform dyed green the night before.

Tom Gordon must have been just 9 or 10 at the time, but he remembers the moment vividly. He and his father were watching the Atlanta Braves play the Phillies. It must have been late in the game and the Phillies must have been winning because Gordon's father turned to him and said, "Son, that's Tug McGraw pitching. " To which Gordon responded, "Dad, his name is Tug?" But Gordon, whose nickname is "Flash" and whom the Phillies introduced as their new closer yesterday at Citizens Bank Park, has an appreciation for McGraw.

I've been fortunate enough to live through the two best eras of Phillies baseball: the late 1970s and early '80s, when the franchise won its first World Series, and the current period, which has seen a second championship and may yet see a third. I've watched Hall of Fame players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton; potential Hall of Famers like Chase Utley and Roy Halladay; folk heroes like John Kruk and Tug McGraw; and one-shot wonders like Marty Bystrom and Mike Rogodzinski (who led the league in pinch hits in 1973 and then disappeared)

As Jim Croce, that Phillies fan from Upper Darby, cautioned long ago, you don't spit into the wind. Why seed black clouds that, even on the sunniest Philadelphia sports day, are hovering not far away? Why prod cruel fate when, after creating decades of devastation, it's sleeping at last? Why mess around with baseball karma? I'm still trying to figure out why, on the 34th anniversary of Black Friday, with the skittish 2011 Phillies desperate for a season-saving Game 5 victory, club officials decided to commemorate the lowest moment from one of the franchise's lowest points.

Nervous? Anxious? Trouble sleeping Thursday night? That's what these elimination games can do to a person. Do or die. Win or go home. It all sounds so scary, and no doubt a large portion of frantic Phillies fans are out there are already gnawing at their nails in anticipation of Friday night's Game 5 at Citizens Bank Park. Some free advice: Embrace this moment and enjoy the ride. Roy Halladay is pitching and the Phillies are at home. That combination makes them the favorite to win and advance.

AFTER A TOUGH loss, venerable knuckleballer Charlie Hough could be found in front of his locker, alternately dragging on a cigarette and a beer, dispensing perspective with a casual been-there, done-that air. Such as: "Every baseball game is important, but no one game is that important. " With all due respect to Hough's sagacity, the game your Philadelphia Phillies will play tonight at Citizens Bank Park against the St. Louis Cardinals to decide which team advances in the postseason tournament is that important.

If you believe precipitation serves a divine purpose, then perhaps the rain that pelted Philadelphia on that miserable Saturday night, Oct. 8, 1977, was an effort to cool the anger and frustration of the city's Job-like baseball fans. Or maybe it was meant to hide their tears. That night, for a second straight season, a 101-win Phillies team lost a National League Championship Series. This one, though, hurt more than the previous season's sweep by the Big Red Machine. Much more.

WHEN THE subject turns toward the greatest Phillies slugger of all time, the discussion must begin with Mike Schmidt. Schmidt is not only the only Phillie with 500 home runs. He's also the only guy with 400. Ryan Howard, though, is getting close to joining him in the 300 club. Howard, who is second in club history, hit his 274th homer on Saturday to put him halfway to Schmidt's total of 548. The Daily News decided to take a look at the two players with stats and stuff on Page 49, but here are a couple other observations and fun facts: Howard probably missed about a full season of major league experience in 2004 and 2005 because Jim Thome played first for the Phillies.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell writes a weekly sports column for the Daily News from a fan's perspective. His column appears Wednesdays. BASEBALL HAS passed the halfway point of the season, and the Phillies have met or exceeded even the wildest expectations of their rabid fans. At the halfway point, they were 51-30, which translates into a 102-win season. I believe the Fightins' clearly are capable of achieving that goal. If they do, might we bear witness to the best team in Phillies history?

You know the Phillies' starting rotation, but how well do you know them? Whose kid was so pumped up that he studied the roster when it became apparent Dad was joining the Phils? Who actually loves seeing "Cowboy" Joe West behind the plate? Which two have hit homers? Here's a wide-ranging look at Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton: 1. What's your full name? Harry Leroy Halladay Clifton Phifer Lee Roy Edward Oswalt Colbert Michael Hamels Joseph Matthew Blanton 2. Former Toronto teammate and current Yankee A.J. Burnett calls Halladay "the Peyton Manning of pitching.

IT STARTED innocently, as many traditions do. Thirty years ago, baseball barely observed St. Patrick's Day during spring training. Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, proud Irishman that he was, always made sure that corned beef and cabbage was the dinner entree at Dodgertown in Vero Beach. That was about it. And then Tug McGraw decided to have a little fun. It's a well-worn tale by now. How McGraw, who had proclaimed St. Patrick's Day his favorite holiday, conspired to have his entire uniform dyed green the night before.

At 11:29 p.m. on Oct 21, 1980, in front of 65,839 fans at Veterans Stadium and the second-largest TV audience in World Series history, Tug McGraw threw a Rawlings baseball past Kansas City's Willie Wilson for the final out of Game 6. Though the useful life span of that ball, stamped with commissioner Bowie Kuhn's signature and a red 1980 World Series logo, was a mere two pitches - 63 seconds, to be exact - it was the central artifact in what...