It's not like wearing your jersey on Friday and letting everyone know you're a player, ... and going to pep rallies. There's no pep rally.

Actually, we're not having one. The girls said they don't particularly care for pep rallies. We didn't have one in the beginning, so why should we start now?

I've never been a part of anything like that before. As a player you're told not to mention it. Before I knew it, he struck the last guy out and it was a great feeling. We all just tackled him.

[As a result, Torre held more pep rallies than he cared to count.] He gave more speeches this year than Shakespeare, ... And every time he gave a new speech, he kept things together. He's the glue.

Between pep rallies and the large crowds, it can be hard to keep a youngster focused. But when the game starts and he gets his first play, you can only hope that the past several weeks have sunk in enough for these youngsters to make the right decisions. When it comes down to it, these are just high school kids playing a game because they love it, and all we can do as coaches is try and put them in the best position possible to win.

For the past 14 years I have been wearing the Maple Leaf on my jersey and it's always been an honor, but today's its very special.