Sunday, April 23, 2006

Kyle's Voicemail

The Adams have asked me to upload Kyle's voicemail to this website because they know that many of you still call Kyle's cell phone to hear his voice. Since they'll be discontinuing the service soon, they wanted you to still have access to Kyle's voicemail here.

Click here to listen.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Houston Chronicle Article 04/18/06

Here is a link to a beautiful article written by Sam Khan Jr. and published on 4/18/06. I'm also going to copy and paste it into this entry, just in case the article ever disappears into cyberspace.



April 18, 2006, 11:20 PM
Santa Fe struggles in wake of tragedy
Teammate's death tugging at Indians' emotions in baseball race

By SAM KHAN JR.Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle


Like many baseball teams in the area, the Santa Fe Indians are trying to make a push toward the playoffs. They have the same challenges as other teams, whether trying to get consistent pitching or driving in runs. "We're hitting, but we're not able to get the hits with runners on base," coach Ronnie Wulf said. "We've lost a few one-run games lately, and it has been tough."

Santa Fe (17-9, 6-6 District 23-4A) is in a three-way tie for third place with district foes Dickinson and Texas City. The Indians will try to be alone in that third spot before the regular season concludes April 28. But unlike most teams in the area, the Indians have suffered a loss greater than any on the field. Their starting shortstop, Kyle Adams, was killed in an car accident March 25 on Texas Highway 6 near Magnolia. Adams, 17, was driving home in the early morning when his truck went off the road and hit a tree, police said.

"I didn't believe it," third baseman Ben Sheehan said. "I thought it wasn't real."

Remembering No. 5
Adams, 17, was a junior, one of two underclassmen in a senior-heavy lineup. He was remembered as solid and reliable.

"Even in practice, he was giving 110 percent," Wulf said. "He would make phenomenal plays when we did game-situation drills."

According to his teammates, an outpouring of support from the Santa Fe community followed for relatives of Adams, who was also a quarterback on the Indians' football team.

"It was incredible the amount of support that everyone showed," senior catcher Scott Martindale said. "The next morning his whole front and backyard was filled with people from school, friends and family."

The Indians postponed their athletic events after the accident. The baseball team resumed play at home March 31 against La Marque in what was an emotional return. Throughout the field were reminders of Adams and his uniform number, 5.

The healing began with a 10-0 Santa Fe victory. The team rode the emotion into the following week, culminating in a 5-3 win over the district's top team and the area's No. 2 team, Channelview. That gave the Indians a three-game winning streak. "We were on a bit of an emotional high when we came back," Wulf said. "I was a little bit, too."

Extra motivation
The Indians haven't won since, but they're fighting for the chance to keep their season going and make some special things happen, and a chance to honor Adams.

They do so before every home game by saying a prayer over his No. 5, which is near home plate. They also line up near shortstop for the national anthem. On the field, they are pursuing a playoff spot that Adams wanted.

"We're dealing with it a little better now," Martindale said. "It's tough knowing that Kyle isn't here, but we know we have something to play for and we want to finish the season strong.

"Kyle always talked about how cool it would be to win a state championship. Hopefully, we can do that for him."

sam.khan@chron.com

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Kyle's News Video

Click to watch video

After Aaron was interviewed by the television reporters, I told him he did a good job of answering their questions. His response, "Not nearly as good a job as spending five minutes alone with Kyle would have done".