NABA News

By Paul Willis

Whether life has progressed seamlessly or run you through the ringer so many times you're fortunate to be alive, baseball is always there to serve as a sanctuary.

Oftentimes, the sport is a metaphor for life itself with its emotional peaks and valleys and requirement to deal with failure.

These are the primary impressions gleaned from Faded Glory, a documentary of National Network, a 35-and-over team that won the NABA World Series in Phoenix in 2008 after failing in the semifinals the previous season.

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This isn't merely a documentary of a run-of-the-mill team, though. Many of the players fit the description of individuals who had been chewed up and spit out by life so many times that it's amazing some were cognizant enough to make a triumphant return to the diamond.

What makes the movie work is the depth of the players, many of whom viewed the forming of the National Network as part of a personal reclamation project. The video was produced and narrated by the team's manager, Rick Cohen, a standout two-sport athlete in high school (and college football player) who went on to become a failed screenwriter, endured two failed marriages, became the victim of a debilitating freeway accident in California and one who never lived up to his father's expectations.

When building the squad to take to Phoenix, Cohen, who had transplanted from the east coast to the west, first sought his primary teammates from a successful New York-based squad from the 1990s. They were on board.

Included was former Lehigh football player Jim Davidson, who also appeared on the 90's sitcom Pacific Blue, extremist Chris Bruno (skier, wrestler, MMA fighter), former pro poker player Chad Brown, and recovering addict Terry Gates, who once hit home runs in five consecutive at-bats for the New York team.

Cohen's business-professional father is segmented throughout, criticizing his son's attempt to make the documentary because of his past failures, as the film strives to make congruent life's and baseball's difficulties.

Cohen builds the remainder of his team from other colorful characters, including former big-league pitcher Mike Roesler (Reds in 1989, Pirates in 1990), 1986 Indians 16^th-round pick Troy Startoni, and center fielder Pat Armstrong, who hadn't cut his hair since 1987.

Cohen had played in the NABA tournament for the San Diego Stars in 2005, finishing second, giving him the drive to reacquaint with the glory days and put together his own team. Particularly intriguing is the depth of which each player is portrayed, with authentic, grainy home video of their youth filtered in throughout.

One prospective player, Manny Vargas, dies of a heart attack before Network debuts in the 2007 tourney. The team also adds TV personality Brien Bailey, former Mississippi State baseball player Terry Loe and left-hander Pat Zapp, who pitches with a pacemaker.

The 2007 tournament is detailed, with Network eventually succumbing to the eventual-champion Denver Bears 10-8 in the semis. Cohen and others are shown with tears streaming afterward, but the group is ultimately delighted to be back together on the field. In 2008, Network defeats the So Cal Titans 13-12 in extra innings to capture the 35 Rookie title.

The message is rooted in Cohen's assertion that if baseball is in your heart, it doesn't matter whether your wife, job or boss objects. You have to play.