FRISCO, Texas — The 2012 Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game, hosted by the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, was a success as the White Sox came through with a 13-6 win over Nowitzki’s Blue Sox.
The MVP of the game was Terrell Owens. The former Dallas Cowboys receiver had three hits — his third came late in the game on a ball that rolled to the wall. He used his speed to get around the bases. Owens also made a wide turn at third thinking about an inside-the-park home run, but he slammed on the breaks and settled for a triple.
Some notes:
* Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle delivered a pair of singles for the White Sox. In Carlisle’s second at-bat, Nowitzki took to the rubber for two pitches and sent a message by throwing behind his head coach. Nowitzki had two hits of his own and attempted at a diving catch in the ninth inning but came up empty handed.
* Charles Barkley toed the rubber for a couple of batters, but it didn’t go like he had hoped. Former Texas Rangers player Kevin Mench hit a three-run home run over the left-field fence, but that wasn’t all. Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant hit a shot right back at Barkley, who dodged the ball at the last minute. Barkley got his revenge the next time they came up, getting Mench to pop one up in the infield and Bryant to ground out to third.
* The celebrities had difficulty fielding the ball, but they still flashed some leather. The best catch of the night came early in the game when Mavericks guard Dominique Jones made a diving catch in right field. Brian Cardinal and Ben Grieve also made a nice catches at third, and Barkley caught his only attempt at a ball to a big ovation from the crowd.
* Bryant, along with former Cowboys receivers Owens and Drew Pearson, showed their skills on the diamond. Bryant collected a couple of hits but also made Cowboys fans nervous sliding awkwardly into second. He got up, smiled and played the rest of the game without a problem. In fact, he felt so good that he participated and won in a dance competition before the ninth inning.