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If you want a taste of Wrigley history, stop at the corner of Waveland and Kenmore Avenues, beyond the left-field bleachers. There youll find the ballhawks, a group of Cubs fans who hang out with their baseball gloves on -- from before batting practice until after the final out -- hoping to snag a home run ball from beyond the ivy.I spoke with a couple of them before a recent game: Rich Buhrke, whos been chasing glory for 57 years, and Dave Davison, with a mere three decades on the job.I watch them scan the skies; the stiff north-by-northwest winds suggest slim pickings during the nights game, and with no batting practice scheduled, itll be slow. So they have time to chat.My first question: Why? Whats the purpose of spending so many days outside Wrigley, all for a ball?Buhrkes answer is as pure and simple as a game of catch: Ive had so much fun -- since I was 12 years old.When you get a homer -- on the fly or after it bounces around the crowd -- he says, For that instant, youre part of the game, and its a big thrill. I still get an adrenaline rush.While back surgery has slowed Buhrkes running game, its now all about predictions, positioning and playing the angles.It takes deep baseball knowledge to be a ball hawk. They monitor pitchers who tend to give up lots of homers, as well as hitters tendencies. They can read the reactions of the crowd along the back wall of the bleachers to tell if a ball is indeed headed out of the park.They also monitor their own statistics. Buhrke has snagged 179 in-game home runs over the years, including Ron Santos 299th and 300th career blasts. He has homers both given up by, and hit by, Cubs pitchers Fergie Jenkins and Scott Sanderson. He also has footballs from point-after-touchdown kicks, back when the Bears played at Wrigley. But his first home run ball might be his most memorable.It was Don Zimmers first dinger as a Cub, after being traded to Chicago from the Dodgers in 1960. Zimmer hit it off his former Dodgers roommate, Johnny Podres. Buhrke got it signed, but the signature faded over the years. Decades later, he went to an autograph show to get it re-signed. There, Zimmer proceeded to tell the inside story of the home run. It came on a 2-0 pitch, a count where the book says a .250 hitter should take a pitch. But Zimmer swung away, and Podres gave him an earful about it all the way around the bases.Every time we see each other, it comes up. You gotta show him this sometime! Zimmer told Buhrke.So when Podres was in town for another autograph show, Buhrke brought him the ball, and said, Don Zimmer told me to come over by you. Podres laughed and told the same story Zimmer had.Then he signed the other side of the ball.The ballhawks are also famous on their own terms. Theres been a documentary film made about them, with Cubs uber-fan Bill Murray narrating, which was screened at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.And Davison has another sort of modern fame: his own bobblehead doll. At the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee, Davison snagged a ball Sammy Sosa blasted out of Miller Park during the Home Run Derby. The TV announcers discussed his feat, and years later, folks from the Milwaukee-based National Bobblehead Hall of Fame met Davison at a card show and asked him if hed want to be immortalized. It finally happened this year, and you can buy one from Davison, along with jewelry made from baseballs he has caught.Other developments this season, however, havent been as good for Davison, Buhrke and the other ballhawks.Thanks to bleacher expansion and what Buhrke calls That Monstrosity -- the new left-field video board -- many balls that wouldve gone onto Waveland Ave. stay in the park. The hawks estimate they get 60 percent fewer balls than in past years. Beyond physical changes, manager Joe Maddons noted disdain for batting practice doesnt help, either. Maddons philosophy of batting practice kills us, Buhrke says. The ballhawks know if BP will happen when the Wrigley Field grounds crew climbs up to spread the netting that protects the video board, and if it doesnt, well, then its time to settle in and tell some stories.These guys know the geography of the games history at the Friendly Confines, and they act as unofficial historians and ambassadors for Wrigleys most famous home runs. Out-of-town fans come looking for the spots where famed long shots by Dave Kingman or Sosa landed on Kenmore Ave. This afternoon, some random fan sought a Mike Schmidt landing zone, and was informed that that particular ball went up the alley, not down the street.You can find ballhawks inside the park as well: During one of the pregame videos the Cubs show on the new board, Buhrke himself appears, holding up a ball as Harry Caray shouts, Holy Cow! Buhrke had never seen the film until I captured an image for him, and based on his age, clothes and other clues, he says its from the late 1980s. He thinks it mightve been an Andre Dawson ball, but cant be completely sure.This season, Davison scored the most historic out-of-the-park ball of the year to date. On May 27, backup catcher David Ross 100th career home run hit the NUVEEN sign and ricocheted into the first front yard on Kenmore. Buhrke had predicted that such caroms would come, but Davison admits he thought the sign was mostly air and that it wouldnt cause any crazy bounces. He happily eats his words: Rich was right, but so far Im the only guy who benefited from it.After Davison snagged the ball, for the rest of the game the Cubs had security shadow him to ensure he wouldnt switch the ball out for another. They neednt have worried: Davison happily gave the ball to Ross, asking only for a photo with him. The grateful Ross praised Davisons generosity.People dont realize when they do stuff like that, its the memory, Ross said to MLB.com. Ill always remember that guy gave me that ball and was kind enough to do that. Now that guy is connected with me for life in my memory.Another memorable time for the ballhawks was the steroid era, when Sosa, Mark McGwire and other sluggers sent countless balls out of the park. It was as exciting as hell, Buhrke says, but as a good baseball purist, he continues, [PED use] never shouldve got into baseball, and now that its out, keep it out. He advocates harsher penalties for juicers, who he says are role models, whether they want to be or not.The ballhawks are role models of a sort, too, exemplars of passionate fan engagement with the game on their own terms. They attend many games, and sometimes follow the Cubs on the road. Theyre part of baseballs genuine folk culture, but over the decades theyve watched that folk culture transform into corporate culture.The starkest example of this transformation at Wrigley is the rooftop clubs. Before Jim Murphy put some seats on top of his tavern, you could watch the Cubs from a rooftop only if you knew someone who lived in the building. Youd clamber up a ladder to the roof, hand up a couple of folding lawn chairs, a cooler with a few cold brews and a transistor radio with Lou Boudreau and Vince Lloyd calling the game.Nobody made a buck off it. Now, the Wrigley rooftops are quintessential corporate America, with $100 tickets that have food and drink and TVs and lawsuits flying around like fungo balls.But the ballhawks are a living memory, a connection to Cubs fan culture before East Lakeview became Wrigleyville. They may perch beyond its walls, but they are as much a part of Wrigley Field as the ivy. Ken Boyer Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. 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In what the team had called a retirement, Ryan said Thursday that he is resigning as chief executive of the Rangers in a move effective at the end of this month. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly finally let DeShone Kizer know on Wednesday hes the guy at quarterback for the 18th-ranked Fighting Irish.With that, the competition between Kizer and Malik Zaire came to an end, at least for now. The news didnt come as a surprise after Kizer thoroughly outplayed Zaire in a 50-47 season-opening loss to Texas. The only surprise was it took until Wednesday for Kelly to let Kizer know he wouldnt be sharing time with Zaire when the Irish (0-1) face Nevada (1-0) on Saturday.He told me Id take the first snap for sure and then he kind of congratulated me on fighting through the process and encouraged me to maintain the same mind-set and assured me Id be the guy on Saturday, Kizer said.Kizer threw for five touchdowns and ran for another and guided Notre Dame within field-goal range two other times on 13 possessions against Texas. The Irish failed to score on the three possessions Zaire played.Kizer was 15 of 24 passing for 215 yards with a pass efficiency rating of 206.5 and rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries. Zaire was 2 of 5 passing for 23 yards witth a 78.dddddddddddd6 pass efficiency rating and had no yards rushing on three carries.Kelly did not talk with the media on Wednesday. On Tuesday he said he would announce a decision after talking with the quarterbacks. Zaire, the starter last season until breaking his right ankle in the second game, didnt speak with the media on Wednesday.Kizer said he believes the competition with Zaire helped him become a better quarterback by making him focus more on each play.In the last eight months I learned quite a bit about myself as a quarterback, as a leader, as a teammate, he said. From that hopefully I developed into somebody I wanted to be for this season. Malik really challenged me and he will continue to challenge me. Im really grateful for the situation.Kizer, who led the Irish to nine victories and a No. 11 ranking last season, said being able to take all the snaps with the starters should help him prepare better for Nevada.It helps with your mind-set, he said. ' ' '