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J LevineNot sure everyone saw this amidst the USC loss and the miner fiasco, but Rod Dedeaux passed away on Thursday...Rod was the John Wooden of college baseball and a fantastic guy. When the Dodgers were sold a couple years ago, a friend of mine worked on the deal. The result was me sitting next to Dedeaux in the owner's suite. I got to see his famous cane/bat signed by 70 different personalities including Hall of Famers, future Hall of Famers, presidents, and actors. Amazing man who gave me 45 minutes of his time to talk baseball (mostly older ball), his time in the majors (2 games in 1935 for the Dodgers), and his coaching. He introduced me to many Dodgers of the past that day (Koufax, Lasorda, Newcombe, among others) and the new owner. The man was truly a great coach, smart as a whip even at 89 (when I met him), and a nice guy. If you want to read about it a little more...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2282067
Joshua