Teen builds ballpark in his Grosse Point Woods backyard

Rob Hathaway has a passion for ballfields that goes back to his first view of the beloved ballpark at "The Corner," Tiger Stadium. Inspired by the lush field, Rob asked and received permission from his mom to build a pitcher's mound in the backyard. As Rob heads off to college this fall he leaves his father in charge of groundskeeping for the little ballpark that includes a mini Green Monster (from fabled Fenway Park in Boston) and two scoreboards. He put a lot of his own time and money into the project over the years to the tune of about $7,000.

You HAVE to check out the pictures over at the Detroit Free Press. Man, it makes me wish I had done something like that as a kid.

I had my own little ballfield in our yard when I was growing up. Home plate was a rough creosote soaked electric pole and my "Green Monster" was in centerfield - an outbuilding where you received credit for a home run if the ball landed on the rooftop. The bases were miniature orange traffic cones and the sandbox in right field was in play.

If you didn't have enough players to field a full team (living in the country we never had a full team) you could leave a "ghostie" on base and go back to hit again. Once and awhile I tried to have my "ghostie" steal a base, but I was always overruled. With the outdoor light on the barn you could even play night games if you wanted.

You know, come to think of it I did have a pretty cool field growing up. Sure there weren't any scoreboards or realistic looking outfield fences and a warning track. But I have such fond memories of playing a simple game of baseball with my dad, sisters, or cousins at my own "field of dreams" that I think it more than makes up for not having a more realistic looking field.

I only hope that I can create such fun memories for my son in our backyard.

MDOT helps U of M and MSU fans get to the game on time

Via the Detroit News Fans of U of M and MSU have some good news before the football season even starts. MDOT has special websites dedicated to helping fans get to Spartan Stadium and the Big House.

U of M fans will want to check out the Wolverine dedicated website here.

Spartan fans should check out the website here.

Both sites list construction projects along known routes to the stadiums in East Lansing and Ann Arbor. In addition you might want to check out www.michigan.gov/laneclosures.

Just one more great service from our award winning State of Michigan website, Michigan.gov.

MDOT suspends most major construction projects this weekend

The majority of Michigan's road and bridge construction projects will be put on hold this Labor Day weekend due to the expected increase in road traffic. From September 1 at 3 p.m. until September 5 at 6 a.m. work will be suspended and lanes opened on 92 of the 155 active construction projects. For a list of the construction zones that will remain active or have limited lanes open head on over to www.michigan.gov/mdot. The list is too extensive to repeat here.

By the way, if you really want to avoid construction and traffic jams consider taking to Michigan's highways instead of the freeways. You remember highways don't you? You know, those two lane roads that pass through quaint little towns and beautiful scenery at a leisurely pace of 55 m.p.h.

Our family has taken to the so-called back roads in recent years and I must admit that the trip has been 200% more enjoyable. You don't have the stress of bumper to bumper traffic and lane changers constantly cutting you off. You can actually see Michigan's scenic views and pastoral farms since you aren't whizzing by at 75-80 m.p.h.

If you truly want to relax this weekend, take my advice. Hop on U.S. 23 along the Lake Huron coast. Cruise up M-66 and pick up U.S. 31 in Charlevoix on your way up to the Mackinac Bridge. There are a number of other main routes to choose from whether you are going north, south, east, or west.

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Expect to see extra State Police patrols this weekend

The Michigan State Police will be out in extra strength for the last holiday weekend of summer (where did summer go?). The drunk driving campaign, "You Drink & Drive. You Lose" will be run by combined efforts of the Michigan State Police and over 500 local law enforcement agencies. Have a fun Labor Day weekend. Be smart and be safe.

One more update on Jim Dreyer's Straits of Mackinac swim

Jim Dreyer might have fell far short of his 125+ mile swim goal, but right now as he recuperates in a hospital he is thankful for still being around. After 49 hours and 40 miles Jim got out of the water yesterday morning just before 11 a.m. His shoulder was in a lot of pain, he was sick to his stomach, and the rough currents had sapped him of his remaining strength. After getting out of the water he felt that something was not quite right and had his team call in paramedics. He was taken to the St. Ignace hospital where his heart rate dropped to 40 and he subsequently passed out. It was pretty scary for a while, but by yesterday afternoon he was sitting up and cleaning his second plate of food.

He was moved to the hospital in Petoskey and was awaiting the results of further tests. Jim was in good spirits and only experiencing pain in his shoulder and legs - not his chest.

Read my previous posts about Jim here and here.

You can read the entire set of updates from his team at his website - www.swimjimswim.org.

Wreck of the Sandusky - Video and its story

I don't mean to be on a kick lately of showing you videos of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. I have just been stumbling upon some truly interesting and intriguing stuff. For instance, I was searching for some video of the Mackinac Bridge at Google Video and found this video of divers exploring the wreck of the Sandusky. This led me to do a little research about the story of the Sandusky. From its wreck to divers illegally taking pieces of the wreckage it is an interesting enough story that I thought it should be shared.

In August of 2004 Robert Allen Lemmer was found guilty of stealing the beam from another Straits wreck, the William H. Barnum. Apparently he had great plans of using it as a mantelpiece.

While investigating him, officers found artifacts from the Sandusky. Unfortunately these were taken in the 1980s and the statute of limitations had passed so he couldn't be charged with those thefts.

The news about Lemmer via CDNN

The Sandusky was a two-masted vessel that measured in at 110 feet and was built in 1848. On September 20, 1856, the Sandusky floundered in a ferocious gale taking seven lives. Although many items of interest have been removed over the years much still remains to be seen of the Sandusky.

The intricate figurehead is amazingly enough still in excellent condition. There are anchors and a bilge pump on deck as well. You can see quite a bit in the video.

The video is on the long side (a little over 7 minutes) so if you have dialup you probably should not bother trying. Unless you want to click on it and wait for an hour, but honestly the video most likely is not worth that. This could have been edited a bit and cut down to a more reasonable 3 minutes.

However, to see the details of this ship that sank 1856 is just incredible. The Sandusky sunk 150 years ago this September. It is hard to believe considering the details such as the figurehead that are still visible after all these years 90 feet under the waters of the Straits of Mackinac.

If the above video player does not work properly you can view the video here.