Hometown hero

For a school assignment this week, I'm writing an article about Bulls rookie Derrick Rose. The main thesis of the article is how many kids in Chicago play basketball, either on the playground, a local gym or on the high school level, yet so few of them end up making hoops a career. Only 15 or so Chicago players every year go on to play D-I college basketball, and if the city is lucky, maybe one or two of those play in the NBA. Rose not only got to D-I, but he was the best player on the second best team in the country and the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. And as fate would have it, he was drafted by the hometown Bulls.

I bring this up because of some sad news I read about in the newspaper this morning. Kevin Foster, a former pitcher for my beloved Cubs, passed away over the weekend after six-month bout with cancer. The news is sad for many reasons. Foster was a nice man by all acounts, was only 39 years old and according to the article, he had a fiance and four kids. He may not have been the greatest pitcher around- 32-28 career record in five years with the Cubs- but I've certainly seen worse in my time watching baseball.

But the real reason it hits home with me is because it actually hits home with me. Kevin Foster is an alum of Chute Middle School, the building I have called neighbor for my entire life and the place where I also got my sixth, seventh and eighth grade education. Foster graduated from Evanston Township High School, the place I still think about almost on a daily basis even though it's been nearly four years since I last took a class there. Foster fulfilled a life-long dream by pitching for his favorite team, the Cubs, at Wrigley Field. As a kid, I shared that dream. I had teachers who also taught Foster, and his picture hangs in the athletic wing at the high school, which I walked by every day for four years. Kevin Foster, a pitcher for the Cubs, was just another kid from Evanston.

Derrick Rose is a sign of hope for many kids these days in Chicago. He made it out of the 'hood, got a full ride to college, and now is playing at the United Center for the Bulls. I rememver Kevin Foster giving me that same kind of hope. No, Evanston's not as rough as the South Side. And Foster was not the superstar that we all hope Rose will be. But just knowing somebody that shared the same background as you made the big show is inspiring. And for that, I thank you Kevin Foster. RIP