The story by News Journal sports writer Rob McCurdy garnered national attention. It featured Lexington, Ohio cross country runner Sami Stoner, a legally blind junior believed to be the first high school athlete in the state to compete with a guide dog.
“I came across her story and thought, ‘Oh this is amazing.’ We thought it was such a fantastic story,” ESPN producer Lisa Binns said.
“It’s been different,” Stoner said. “I really just try and do my regular routine, but it’s kind of weird having to be wired up. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was worried it would fall off (when I was running) but it ended up being fine.”
It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Stoner since her story captivated people across the nation last fall. She inspired others suffering from Stargardt disease, which is a juvenile form of macular degeneration. After running cross country in junior high, her vision began to fade in the eighth grade, but she didn’t want to give up the sport she loved.
Stoner has been interviewed by a number of national media outlets and gives motivational speeches for various luncheons and groups ranging from the Boy Scouts to the Lions Club.
“I was shocked at all the attention I got,” Stoner said. “It was an extremely well written article and I can’t thank him enough for it. That article really sparked everything that has happened in the past year. … It’s been an amazing experience. I got to meet so many people I wouldn’t have gotten to meet if I hadn’t had that opportunity. I never dreamed anything like that would come of it. It really has been a great experience.”
Both Stoner and Chloe were in good spirits when they crossed the finish line with a time of 32:55.10. At the beginning of the season Chloe was struggling to finish races and was diagnosed with a thyroid issue. She’s since been placed on medications and is happy to be running by Stoner’s side. The pair must wait 30 seconds after the start of a race before they can run for the safety of both the runners and Chloe.
“She’s been on medication about a week now and she laid down once for about 10 seconds then got right back up and finished the race no problem,” Stoner said. “I was very proud of her.”
The Boston Red Sox were willing to eat $48.3 million just to make third baseman Pablo Sandoval go away. Sandoval showed up to spring training badly out of shape in 2015, three months after he signed a five-year, $95 million contract. His look in spring training 2016 was even worse, prompting Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy to write "Get a load of that gut."
Bleacher Report:
A missed interference call in the 11th inning led to the Boston Red Sox officially playing their game on Saturday against the New York Yankees under protest. The situation occurred in the top of the 11th inning when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a ground ball to Mitch Moreland, who threw to second base. Baserunner Matt Holliday turned around to go back to first base, causing the return throw from shortstop Xander Bogaerts to be off line.The Red Sox won't mention in their protest to Major League Baseball that they squandered a golden opportunity to win the game in the 10th inning. Andrew Benintendi led off with a single to left-center and Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a single to right. Manager John Farrell chose not to have pinch hitter Chris Young bunt the baserunners to second and third. Young struck out and the runners never advanced.
Ellsbury was called safe at first on the play after the umpires went to the review booth to get clarification on the rule.
Speaking with ESPN reporter Tom Rinaldi, Sami Stoner told Tom that "if she were able to see, she would like to look in the mirror and see how she looked."
Boston team radio announcer Tim Neverett begs Red Sox' fans to root hard for the California Angels against the second place Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. The Boston Red Sox need to look long and hard in the mirror before their season goes dark.
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
