Left on the cutting room floor from Sunday’s feature on Type 1 diabetic Kris Freeman, considered America’s best chance for a cross country Olympic medal:
Advancements in medicine — and rapid-onset insulin, specifically — have made it possible for Type 1 diabetics to chase their athletic dreams. Freeman wears an OmniPod insulin pump on his right triceps, a tubeless system that monitors and adjusts glucose levels.
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can affect brain function and zap an athlete’s energy. Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, leads to other serious medical problems.
“Ten years ago, if you told me an endurance athlete (with Type 1) was heading to the Olympics, I would say you must be kidding,” said Dr. John Poremba of Elliot Endocrinology Associates of Manchester, who has treated many athletes with the disease. “Now with training and practice, there is no limit to what someone with diabetes can do. It takes some trial and error, but athletes can figure out where to set up the pump based on level of physical assertion.”
Freeman was diagnosed at age 20 during a routine blood screen at the U.S. training camp in Park City, Utah. His father, Donavan, vividly remembers the phone call home.
“It was devastating. Just awful. There was no family history and it came completely out of the blue,” Donavan said. “The doctor told him his career is all done, but he decided to prove him wrong … The poor kid can’t even get excited before a race because adrenaline raises his blood sugar. Just getting to the starting line takes a lot of work.”
Unlike his competitors, Freeman can spend about 20 minutes monitoring his blood levels before a race. About 99 percent of the time, he’ll make the proper insulin adjustment if needed.
“There was a race in Europe when I didn’t get it right. The glucose monitors get temperamental when it’s really cold, and I got a reading saying it was low. I didn’t believe it,” Freeman said. “I started the race with messed up blood sugar. A cascade of things went wrong that day.”
A conversation with Matt Bonner, with quotes taken from the cutting room floor:
Sunday News: How much do NBA players really listen to their coach during timeouts?
Bonner: Here’s the thing with coach (Gregg Popovich): it depends. If it’s halfway through the first quarter, and we haven’t done much to make him mad … he might draw up a play and say one thing about overall strategy, and that’s about it. Like you said, guys might not be as intensely listening. If it’s down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and it’s a close game, it’s a different story. Everyone is right there listening, hanging on every word.
Sunday News: Any advice you can give to the University of New Hampshire basketball team?
Bonner: At Florida, when they brought in coach Billy Donovan and started rebuilding the program, the first thing he did was start recruiting in-state. Get your recruiting base established from the state and then branch out from there. Obviously, if you’re coaching at UNH, you’re going to have a tough time snatching up McDonald’s All-Americans, but I think you can recruit in-state and make the school and program look appealing to the best players from the state. When you do that, you create excitement. Local fans are going to start paying more attention to UNH if there are local people playing there.
Obviously, there was a heck of a crop of players that came along. There was my brother (Luke) and his class (at Trinity High of Manchester) with Chad Millard and Chris Brickley and Chris Lutz. There was Tyler Roche (at Manchester Central) and Corey Hassan (Merrimack). If you could’ve gotten a few of those guys to UNH, in that conference, for sure you could’ve gotten some momentum going and gotten the ball rolling and had some success. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and the same mistakes are repeating themselves.
June 2, 2004
New Britain 13, Fisher Cats 1, at Gill Stadium (crowd of 1,939)
Boof Bonser goes 6 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and earns the win over Josh Banks.
Aaron Hill homered off Boof Bonser on June 7, 2004.
Cubs outfielder Sam Fuld and wife Sarah had a healthy baby boy, Charles Merrill, born on Dec. 3. Sam is off to Venezuela for winter ball. Let’s hope the Cubs trade Milton Bradley and Fuld gets a shot at making the team out of spring training.
Mike Basso, who managed the Fisher Cats in 2004 and 2005, will serve as a Pirates major league scout in 2010. Basso was among the Jays’ staff fired in the J.P. Ricciardi house cleaning.
Doug Davis, manager of the 2006 Fisher Cats, is a minor league coordinator for the Jays.
Bill Masse (’07 manager) took a job as big-league scout with the Mariners.
Gary Cathcart (’08-09) will manage the high-A Potomac Nationals in 2010.
Smith Center (Kans.) lost its state championship football game yesterday, ending a 79-game winning streak. This means the Plymouth High Bobcats have the longest winning streak in the nation at 55 games. How about that?
UNH football must win at McNeese State to advance to the second round of the NCAA playoffs — and play at Villanova.
Oregon coach Chip Kelly on UNH coach Sean McDonnell:
“He’s done so much more with less (resources) than what everybody else has. He never let’s that be a sticking point,” said Kelly, a former offensive coordinator in Durham. “He just continues to coach his tail off, and his teams continue to produce. I think you almost take it for granted that it’s the end of the season and UNH is in the playoffs again. For him to go six straight years in a row, that’s really an awesome feat.”
By KEVIN GRAY
New Hampshire Union Leader
Former Red Sox infielder Luis Rivera, who spent five seasons with Boston, has been named the next manager of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the New Hampshire Union Leader has learned.
The Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon will announce the fifth manager in Fisher Cats’ history. Rivera, a gloveman who played for the Red Sox from 1989-93, spent the past four seasons with the Cleveland Indians while serving as a first base and infield coach.
Fisher Cats pitching coach Tom Signore will return for 2010 and be joined by new hitting coach Ralph Dickinson.
Rivera takes over for Gary Cathcart, who managed the Fisher Cats the past two seasons. Other managers for Double-A New Hampshire have been Mike Basso (2004-05), Doug Davis (2006) and Bill Masse (2007).
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