Chances are, Tim Hasselbeck will never find out what happened to Simone.
The young girl, perhaps 3 years old, clung to him the entire week he spent in Riverton City, Jamaica, a Kingston slum built around a trash dump. The connection was such that the Simone's teenage mother, seeing no future in such an ugly place, told Hasselbeck to take her daughter with him when he went home to America.
"I guess you never want to sound like you're soft or anything," Hasselbeck said. "But for me, yeah, emotionally, that was tough for me to see that. For a woman to say, `Take my daughter.' That was hard for me."
Of course, Hasselbeck couldn't accept. He was an American football player from Boston College trying to do some good during spring break, like his brother Matt before him, working with orphans and leprosy victims with a group called the Ignacio Volunteers.
Nearly six years later, in the cozy training facility of the Washington Redskins, the memories of that week stir Hasselbeck's emotions more than any talk of his first NFL victory -- just three weeks ago -- or the futility of his 0.0 quarterback rating in a game against Dallas.
"Kids are running around with no schools, no homes, no electricity, no place to go to the bathroom," Hasselbeck said. "When I was 3 years old, I was wondering what game we were going to play outside. If it was cold, I was going to come inside and have some hot chocolate."
And, as for Simone, one of many kids who turned Hasselbeck into a human jungle gym every day, he can only hope she turned out for the best.
"They live on a dump. They don't have an address," Hasselbeck said. "If there was any kind of way to find out, I'd love to know that things are a little bit better. It's sad thinking about."
This has been a special year for the Hasselbeck family. After years of pink slips from various NFL teams, Tim latched on with the Redskins. He is finishing the season as the starter because of an injury to Patrick Ramsey and appears to have earned himself a roster spot for next season.
Meanwhile, Matt is in Seattle, leading his team in the playoff chase in his third year as the starter and as the Seahawks' nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for community service. Younger brother Nathanael is a red-shirt sophomore at Boston College.
Tim's wife, Elisabeth, has parleyed her success as a "Survivor" contestant into a co-host chair on the morning television show ``The View,'' getting the job just days before Tim got his first substantial playing time in the NFL.
Watching it all unfold is father Don Hasselbeck, who spent nine years as an NFL tight end.
"Everyone says `Congratulations.' The funniest part is I guess I'm excited for them, but I think Matthew is probably more excited about it than anybody," Don Hasselbeck said. "Because Matthew and Tim were so close."
The Hasselbecks are an emotional bunch, and their track record is one of caring. When Matt made the same trip to Riverton City, he watched a boy fall into a hole being used for a bathroom. The boy died, and one theory is that his assistance in the rescue effort is what gave Matt hepatitis, putting him in the hospital and causing him to miss spring practice the year he was vying for a starting job at BC.
After that experience, his parents couldn't believe it when Tim wanted to follow his brother's footsteps two years later. Yet they all agree: The boys came back as different people, and for the better.
"It was really a life-changing experience," Matt said. ``It changed my perspective on everything. Whereas before I might have been the `Why me?' thing. I just decided at that point, I was going to make the most of what I had and what I was given: God-given ability, health, all that stuff."
Don Hasselbeck didn't even want his sons to play football. The physical pounding prompted him to encourage other sports. Finally, he promised to let them sign up on the day he retired, figuring they would be over it by then.
Wrong.
"They were there the same day that I told [Bill] Parcells I was done with the Giants," Don said. "They were standing there with their footballs under their arm. `Can we go sign up?' I said, `No, it's too late.' `Please?'"
Matt recalled that his father "expected us to be upset" because he was retiring.
"My first reaction was, `Great,'" Matt said.
Don took them to practice and ended up coaching them for nine years, passing along NFL tips to Pop Warner kids. He had his sons play quarterback so they wouldn't get hurt.
But they were good.
Tim, who went through various training camps and a stint in NFL Europe, became Matt's biggest sounding board. Matt would call Tim from the Seahawks' team bus after a game and get the full critique from his brother. Now Matt can return the favor.
"That's the most exciting part of it," Don said. "I know these guys; they enjoy it. They're passionate about it. A lot of people said to Tim, `Have you ever thought about coaching?' Tim was like, `I want to play. I can always coach. I want to play.' He understands the game. I think that's what makes it fun for him."
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS