A Star off the ice - 2005-06-28
Stars center Mike Modano is hardly fretting about his upcoming bid to pitch, hit and run. Preparation? Nah.
"I'm just kind of a last-second guy," he said this week while vacationing in northern Michigan. "Whatever happens, happens.
"There's no use getting yourself all worked up for three at-bats and a couple of catches you might make."
Modano is among the featured attractions at the upcoming Reebok Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game, July 16 at Frisco's Dr Pepper/Seven Up Ballpark. It benefits the Mike Modano Foundation and two other foundations.
Modano knows his fastballs from his curves. He played baseball until he was 13 or 14, he said, when he began focusing year-round on hockey.
And this is Modano's third such celebrity baseball gig.
Also scheduled to play: Mark Cuban, former Stars forward Brett Hull, celebrity NFL safety Jason Sehorn, Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyer and Mavericks Michael Finley and Jerry Stackhouse. Can they pull off the baseball thing?
"Well, we all look like the part because of the uniforms," Modano said with a laugh. "Then, when you get throwing and running, sometimes there's not that much there."
The Stars center says he's keeping busy by playing golf and staying informed on hockey's labor issues.
