The slumping Philadelphia Phillies got a lift from an unlikely source on Friday night -- former Baltimore Oriole Rodrigo Lopez.

Lopez pitched 6.1 innings and allowed just two runs in the Phillies' 7-2 win over the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

Lopez was one of baseball's best stories in 2002, when he burst onto the scene with the Baltimore Orioles and went 15-9 with a 3.57 ERA.

Dan Connolly, who covered the Orioles that year for the York Daily Record, wrote the following for the June 8, 2002, edition:

BALTIMORE -- Rodrigo Lopez dreamed of one day pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers like his childhood hero and fellow Mexican, Fernando Valenzuela.

He never was given the chance. He signed with the Orioles as a minor-league free agent when no other team, including the Dodgers, showed interest.

On Friday, Lopez started against L.A. and came within one out of capturing his first complete-game shutout. Instead, he settled for a 4-2, interleague victory and a standing ovation from an energized Camden Yards crowd of 33,624.

 "The feeling is pretty good," said Lopez, a native of Tlalnepantla, Mexico. "I've been a Dodgers' fans since I was a kid. (The win) means a lot to me."

Within six months, the 26-year-old right-hander has gone from the Culiacan Tomato Growers of the Mexican Winter League to being arguably the Orioles' staff ace. Lopez (6-1) is second in the American League with a sparkling 2.51 ERA and is making a claim to become the Orioles' representative to the American League All-Star team.

"He's incredible," Melvin Mora said of Lopez. "This guy can just pitch. He throws the ball and uses his brain.... That's pretty good."

Lopez mixed his nasty slider with a 93-mph fastball against a team that had only one hitter in the lineup - Brian Jordan - that had ever faced him before.

The fairy tale didn't continue forever for Lopez, though.

He struggled in 2003, posted 14 and 15 wins in 2004 and 2005, respectively, for the Orioles (while seeing his ERA rise). And then he fell off the cliff in 2006, losing 18 games and posting a 5.90 ERA.

He was quietly dealt to the Colorado Rockies in the winter following that season. Lopez made 14 unremarkable starts for the Rockies in 2007 and then didn't pitch again in the majors until tonight. He made three minor-league starts for the Atlanta Braves in 2008 and started this season in the Phillies' Triple-A rotation at Lehigh Valley.

Now, with the World Champion Phillies struggling with injuries and inconsistency in their starting rotation, the 33-year-old Mexican native might just have a chance to stick in Philadelphia for awhile.

Friday was a promising first step.

Ok, while looking for some college spotlight information to post here, I thought hey let's look at Bucknell because I know the YAIAA has a few alumni playing sports there.

So, I did that, but something caught my eye and that was the release of the various NCAA Division I Patriot League all-academic teams.

I liked that even better and started my write up until I looked around and found nine former YAIAA student-athletes that made the list.

Considering the fact the Patriot League boasts academic schools like Bucknell, Colgate, Lehigh, Lafayette, Holy Cross and the Army Academy, garnering such status is a well-deserved honor that doesn't come without extreme efforts.

So, in no particular order is the athlete (high school), college (class when award given), sport, GPA, major:

Stephanie Evans (Central York), Bucknell (junior), track, 3.95, chemical engineering.

Ashley Beans (Hanover), Bucknell (senior), softball, 3.66, economics.

Katie McDonald (West York), Bucknell (senior), softball, 3.50 psychology.

Whitney Brown (York Suburban), Bucknell (junior), swimming, 3.83 psychology/economics.

Jake Schroeder (York Suburban), Bucknell (sophomore), track, 3.58, economics/German.

Michael Simmons (South Western), Army (senior), 3.73, track, mechanical engineering.

Robert Blum (South Western), Lafayette (senior), track, 3.35, mechanical engineering.

Zach McClain (Dallastown), Army (senior), swimming-diving, 3.27, civil engineering.

Katherine Johnescu (York Suburban), Colgate (freshman), rowing, 3.48, undeclared.

Solid careers on the field and outstanding performance where it is most important.

Back in June, Dallastown grad Jamie Maloney received a terrific recognition when she was awarded the inaugural women's PSAC Sportsmanship Award.

The award is given to a female and male athlete who exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship and has demonstrated the values of respect and integrity through a specific action.

Maloney, who both swims and runs track at Clarion University, earned her acknowledgment at the PSAC swimming championships when she handed her goggles to a West Chester swimmer, who had broken hers just prior to a heat race.

The thing is, West Chester is typically Clarion's biggest rival during the PSAC season and the two schools had battled for many a conference dual-meet championship, yet Maloney didn't hesitate to help out and later would say, "It was no big deal."

She has also been involved with many community activities during her three years at the school. I recall speaking with Jamie several times while she was at Dallastown, the last of which came during the YAIAA track championships during her senior year with the Wildcats.

 Seeing this story doesn't surprise me one bit. Way to go, Jamie.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the start of the "Get Outdoors and Be Creative!" summer program sponsored by the Healthy York County Coalition.

We went out with Sarah this past weekend and found two more of the 30 creativity stations that are spread across York County.

I took a couple of snapshots. Can you tell me at which park or trail these were taken? If so, e-mail me at cotto@ydr.com.

So while watching a plethora of Michael Jackson videos on MTV today (side note: I haven't seen that many videos since, oh, about 1992) "Jam" came on, which I had totally forgotten about.

I don't really think the song is especially good, but the video featuring Michael Jordan is hilarous. Especially Jordan trying to dance at the end.

Plus you get bonus Heavy D and Kris Kross.

This would be my personal favorite right here, but "Beat It" is a close second - and this is of course without taking any of the Jackson 5 stuff into account. The unforgettable lead in, plus Eddie Van Halen equals good stuff. Enjoy.

And this would pull up as a close third. I even like the Alien Ant Farm version.

Daily Record/Sunday News Penn State writer Frank Bodani is a Pittsburgh fan in most sports. In fact, he even wrote a recent column explaining this.

So, to help celebrate Frank's 40th birthday, his wife Shelly Bodani had this cake made for him and delivered it to the newsroom.

The cake is a close replica of the 1971 Roberto Clemente baseball card and staff photographer Jason Plotkin was kind enough to get a picture for us.

The work is outstanding ............... and delicious.

A couple of weeks ago, the Capital Athletic Conference submitted its All-Academic team, which I wrote a story about York College leading the way with the number of athletes on the list.

While thinking about the Spartan success in the classroom, I recalled a conversation I had in 2006 with York women's basketball coach Betsy Witman, shown below coaching her team against Baruch during the NCAA Division III tournament.

At the time, Witman's squad had finished second in the nation -- the Spartans were first in 2004-05 -- academically and like any coach she was hopeful that success would carry over to the court.

"We know we are smart," Witman said. "We have proven it now for how many years? Let's win a championship. Why can't we do both "

Well, this season York had 13 of its players on the CAC All-Academic list and on the floor won the CAC regular season title, plus made it to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16, finishing with a 27-3 record.

Congratulations coach Witman you reached your goal.

Ok, while Franklin & Marshall is in Lancaster and Caitlin Elfring is from Glen Rock New Jersey, not Pennsylvania, what the softball first baseman did is still nothing short of amazing.

Elfring did not strikeout all season.

That's right, no whiffs all season, which is simply an amazing stat in fastpitch softball where 60-plus mile per hour pitches come at you from less than 50-feet away.

Just finishing her junior season with the Diplomats, Elfring appeared in 35 games - 34 starts - with 78 at bats. On June 23, she was named the NCAA Division III's toughest to strike out.

Also, after making just one error in more than 190 chances, she is pretty good with the glove too.

We are in the middle of rolling out the all-stars and the answers to the first two blog teasers were revealed as Susquehannock's Dakota Heath and Kennard-Dale's Hana Krechel.

My last post was correctly answered, but I think I gave too much away. So let's see who can come up with this one:

Question: What is something you remember from first grade?
Answer: I remember winning my first spelling bee. I even remember the winning word, which was book.

Question: What are three items you would take with you to a deserted island?
Answer: A jersey, a football, and my track spikes.

Question: If you were in charge of picking a new mascot for your school, what would you pick?
Answer: Probably a tiger. Tigers are really fierce and they're the king of the jungle after lions, so I would go with the Tigers.

Ahhh, there's nothing like watching a bunch of 7- and 8-year-olds play baseball.

Sure, they don't hit as far, catch as good or throw to the right base like major leaguers do (supposed to anyway), but I'll take watching these kids over forking over a week's pay to sit in the nosebleed section of an MLB park anyday.

My son finished his third season with the Spring Grove Little League Assoc. today, and I have to commend and thank his coaches for giving their time. As a former coach, I know how hard it can be to juggle family with coaching responsibilities. And this particular group of coaches really made the season enjoyable for my son.

So here's a big shoutout to coach Tony Miller and all his assistants.

Have you thanked a volunteer today?

Even an hour after the West squad in which he was the offensive line coach for lost 37-22, West York coach Ron Miller couldn't say enough good things about his experience at the East-West All-Star Game.

"I made relationships that will stay with me forever," Miller said via telephone from Mansion Park in Altoona, site of the game. "I worked with some good football coaches."

Miller, shown below congratulating one of the state champion Thomas Jefferson players after the District 7 team knocked off his Bulldogs in the PIAA Class AAA semifinal.

He got to coach some of the TJ kids and was particularly impressed with Pat Hagen, the 6-6, 275-pound offensive lineman that will play at West Virginia.

"That kid we will watch on Sundays," he said. "They are great kids too."

It wasn't just the football people that impressed Miller either. He raved about Sheryl Ebersole, who works for the Blair County Visitors Bureau and runs the East-West game.

"I never met anyone like that," Miller said of Ebersole. "It was amazing. She deserves a shout-out."

The Associated Press felt the need to let the world know that Manny Ramirez has a cold.
Is this really necessary? Do we care? Do you care?

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Manny Ramirez is not feeling well.
The suspended slugging outfielder has apparently caught a bug that's been going around the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Manager Joe Torre says Ramirez has a cold and is running a slight fever. Torre says he had a brief bout with laryngitis recently.
Ramirez is serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug rules.
The Dodgers have not settled on a date for Ramirez to begin his 10-day rehab assignment before he is scheduled return on July 3 at San Diego. Torre said that should be determined by the end of the week.

Due to an unfair advantage (the ability to actually see her room), Noah has taken the high road and not outed the player in my previous post. And readers are inching closer to an answer on my first post.

I actually laughed out loud when I read this next one:

Question: If you were in charge of picking a new mascot for your school, what would you pick?

Answer:The Catfish, the (school name deleted to make it slightly harder) Catfish. The school is close to the river, so Catfish.

Question: Did you have a nickname growing up? If so, how'd you get it?

Answer: Slick. I got it when I younger and when I was playing baseball.

Question: Which would you compete on: American Idol or Dancing With the Stars?

Answer: Dancing With the Stars, because I can move it baby!

While you are trying to figure out who was quoted in my last post, here's some other gems I found from one of our upcoming Player of the Year Q&As.

Question: Are you a clean bedroom person or a messy bedroom person? What would be the first thing that someone would notice upon entering your bedroom?

Answer: Messy bedroom person, my bedroom is a wreck. My mom will hate that that's in the paper. The first thing someone would notice would be my posters of Orlando Bloom and the All-American Rejects.

Question: What sport are you the absolute worst at?

Answer: Softball. Whenever we play in gym, I just swing and miss.

Hint: This athlete and the athlete quoted before play the same sport.