I searched here for a post, couldn’t find anything, so here goes - has anyone heard this recent rumor about Cal Ripken beating the crap out of Kevin Costner? This supposedly happened in the early 90s when people were just beginning to realize that Cal’s streak was going to break the record.
The guys had golfed together in the AM, then Cal went off to the stadium for a later game, but forgot something at home and returned. He discovered Kevin and Mrs. Ripken doing something out of the ordinary together, so he did a bit of work on Mr. Costner and managed to hurt himself a bit as well. The story goes on to say that the Orioles game was cancelled that night due to “electrical problems” at the stadium, giving Cal plenty of time to recuperate from his wounds. This story is making the rounds on SF and LA sportsradio, and apparently other Baltimore players from that era have called in to validate it.
Maybe this is old news, I don’t know. I bought my Cal Ripken rookie card back in 1991 because I knew he was going to break the record. I keep it in a locked and fireproof box. I thought I was a good fan, but this story caught me off guard. Excuse me while I go curl up in a fetal position…
Yeah, I remember reading about this incident in a nationally circulated newspaper.
IIRC, it was right after the story about Lisa Marie Presley being pregnant with Martian twins and on the page opposite the bit about how you can lose weight by eating nothing but chili and milkshakes.
I’ve never heard anything about it, and I’ve lived in Baltimore since 1983. You’d think if something like that had really happened it would’ve been well publicized. And I definitely can’t imagine the Orioles cancelling a game for something so ridiculous, especially in light of all the injuries Cal played through.
I just heard a similar story about this the other night. A Baltimore City police officer told me he heard this from several ushers (who swear this is true) at Camden Yards. Supposedly, Ripken was escorted away from his house after allegedly beating his wife. The “electrical problems” were due to the fact that he was not finished at the police station by game time. This is the first I’ve heard of it, and I’ve lived here (in Baltimore) for the past 39 years.
I’ve played ball against the Ripkins, and dated the girl that lived accross the street from them. I’ve even had the pleasure of a drink with Billy. I’d certainly have heard about either the “wife beating” of the “Costner fight” from someone in my circle. Strongly doubt it, to the level of calling it fit for the Nat Enq.
Sounds like a typical case of the media not wanting to accept that there are nice guys and nice husbands out there. So they made up some dirt to sling just to make his life more juicy. My husband met Cal Ripken and all that guy could talk about was how much he loved his kids and missed them, and he was gracious and humble and very friendly.
Secondly…it sounds like a typical case of the media getting together a long time ago and saying “Time’s Up For Costner!” it’s so cool to hate him, and anyone will believe anything they read that will add to their fire. Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, Dances With Wolves, The Untouchables…these are still some of my favorite movies ever. He may be faltering in his career, but I won’t deny that he’s entertained me for years.
From today’s (6/26) “Radio Listener” column in the Washington Post:
**Costner’s Denial
Actor-director Kevin Costner made the unusual move of calling the Fox Sports Radio duo of Kevin Kiley and Chuck Booms (fired from WTEM in 1998) last week to deny rumors of an affair with Kelly Ripken, wife of Baltimore Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken.
When Ripken announced his retirement early last week, the Internet gossip mill churned into action, recalling the rumor of an August 1997 affair between his wife and Costner, who has starred in baseball movies such as “Field of Dreams” and “Bull Durham.” When Costner was told that Kiley and Booms were rehashing the rumor on-air last Tuesday, he called them, outraged. The next day, Costner came on their show – which is not heard in Washington though it is broadcast from here – and denied the rumor, saying he had met Kelly Ripken twice and had talked to her for a total of about 10 minutes at baseball functions in Baltimore and Boston.
“I would die defending the Constitution, but, goddammit, sometimes I feel like we’ve got a suicide pact with this First Amendment,” Costner said.**
This has all the signs of a bad rumor. If this really happened don’t you think a reputable reporter would have broken the story by now??
As for radio, sports talk shows are a huge fountain of misinformation. In Phildelphia, 610-WIP was sued by the Phildelphia Flyers and Eric Lindros when a talk show host “reported” Eric missed a game due to a hangover and that Eric hung out with mafia members. WIP was forced to settle since the talk show host of course not checked his sources and had zero proof.
There’s also been idiots calling up saying that the reason Lindros was stripped of his Captaincy was because he slept with Rod Brin’damour’s wife, and Brind’amour demanded a trade because he could no longer play w/ Lindros. Fortuntely, this time the hosts have made it clear that is an unsubstantiated Internet rumor.