Tom Barnard tells of his great love for sports stories, especially where an athlete survives an ugly situation and is honored for his or her lifetime achievements. One of those celebrations occurred on baseball's opening day, 2008. It happened to William Joseph "Bill" Buckner, a former major league baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and the Boston Red Sox.

Accompanied by a loud, standing ovation prior to the start of the Red Sox home opener against the Detroit Tigers, the former first baseman threw out the ceremonial "first pitch" to his former teammate, Dwight Evans. The full house of just under 38,000 fans celebrated as they enjoyed season opener 108 for the Sox.

By anyone's standards, Bill Buckner had an outstanding profes…