He gets his first start of the season as Giants middle linebacker today against the Steelers, and so Mark Herzlich, cancer survivor, runs onto the MetLife Stadium field to face the Steelers as the Man of Steel, at a time when so many in this area have had to cope with Sandy’s devastation. Herlich was asked what he hopes the people who have been affected think or say when they see him.
“Well, I think it’s about perseverance. … It’s about not giving up,” Herzlich told The Rumble. “That was my biggest thing. I had to set a goal, and I had to stick to that goal — it was coming back and playing football again and being healthy. And beating cancer. And doing something that people told me I couldn’t do.
“For people fighting cancer, that’s very easy to relate to, because so many times you get told, ‘You have cancer’ … kind of, ‘You’re screwed.’ … What next? Your life is over. And that’s not the way it is. And I think that for everybody around here recently, the main thing is the hurricane. They have houses wiped out … trains are not running, nothing’s working, no one has gas. Now what do I do with my life? I’ve been out of work for a week, maybe I don’t have a job to go back to, maybe I don’t have a house to go back to.
“Set that goal and keep pushing towards it, and you’ll come out. Your attitude will determine how you come out.”
Yankees help storm victims
All it took was one night of Sandy’s wrath to instill enough damage to slow the daily routines of the residents in New York’s areas. With the population in New Jersey and Long Island being hit the hardest, another miracle is needed.
Yankees co-chairperson Hank Steinbrenner was haunted by the images he witnessed on his television set on this Halloween weekend. Homes being destroyed by floods and winds brought back the memories of his father, George Steinbrenner doing his part to help.
“This is what drove my father to assist others,” Hank said. “When Hurricane Andrew struck, he would load up a truck with aids for the town of Homestead [Fla.], which was hit pretty badly.”
Steinbrenner, who lives in Tampa, called Yankees community advisor Ray Negron, who lives in Babylon, L.I., to check on his safety. A Yankee Miracle was in the making. They decided to donate all proceeds from the sales, during the month of November, of Negron’s top selling sports book, “Yankee Miracles,” to the Red Cross Foundation.
The funds from the book sales will focus on addressing storm damage in the New Jersey and Long Island areas, where Sandy hit the hardest.
“This is a small way that we can help Long Island and the huge Yankee supporters that live in New Jersey to help get their lives back together in this devastating situation,” said Steinbrenner, who penned the forward to the book. “I love what the book represents, and we will use it to help heal those hard working people who my heart goes out to.”
The Yankees’ season may be over, but the business of helping others through giving back is very much evident. They began by donating, through the NY Yankees Foundation, $500,000 to the Red Cross Foundation.
R.A. pitching lessons in auction benefit
How would you like to have a private pitching lesson from the Mets’ R.A.Dickey?
That experience is one of the 20 items currently available on the online auction that is being run in conjunction with the Nov. 29 dinner to honor the Mets public relations rep Shannon Forde. The auction, which runs through Wednesday, can be viewed on charitybuzz.com/auctions/shannon.
Shannon, who has been with the Mets for 18 years, was diagnosed with breast cancer last August. The fundraiser will be held at the Westmount Country Club in Woodland Park, N.J.
To confirm reservations for the dinner by Friday, email durantedebbie@hotmail.com. To confirm the meet-and-greet with former Mets stars, email danielle.heuer@optimum.net or call (732) -241-1817.
Gridiron’s best on film
The writers at Sports Illustrated have come out with “Football’s Greatest,” a coffee-table book that chronicles the top 20 at every position as well as the greatest coaches, rivalries, plays and games in NFL history.
The book also looks at best and worst trades, best uniforms and stadiums, and even best football movies. Nevertheless, editor Bill Syken was quick to point out one movie that he felt should have made the list, but was shot down.
“Ace Ventura, Pet Detective” was one of my personal favorites, but the writers thought it wasn’t traditional, enough,” he said. “Regardless, it is a great movie with lots of fun football.”
“Brian’s Song” and the original “Longest Yard” were Nos. 1 and 2 on the list.