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21
The alarm clock blaring in Cara's room seemed distant at first, but then louder and louder as she started to come to her senses. As she hit the snooze button, the world began to come back into focus after her short night's sleep thanks to the fire alarm.
Per her morning ritual, Cara sat down at her computer to check her email. She would always give herself until the snooze on the alarm went off again to check her email and surf the web before she started her day.
The newest email message that greeted her was from her old roommate Mallory, and on the subject line it read, "Video Link".
Cara - here's the video I told u about. -Mal
Cara clicked the link and it directed her to YouTube. As it buffered, she noticed that it had 12.7 million views. Her heart sank as she heard the Cubs play-by-play announcers voice pick up the action.
It's the top of the first here at Wrigley Field, and as we are about to get underway all eyes are on Cooper Madison as he toes the rubber for the first time since the tragic loss of his father nearly two weeks ago. He will have to face the 1st place Cardinals as their leadoff man Roberto Valez steps in the box. Valez is batting .289 since being called up from AAA in late June and has settled in nicely. Madison appears to be his usual stoic self on the mound, and manager Skip Parsons said that he would not want to be a Cardinal batter today… Madison starts his wind-up and delivers...STRIKE ONE!!...97 miles per hour right down the chute… Mr. Valez, meet Mr. Madison… right back to work, Madison deals and...STRIKE TWO!!... 101 mph!!... Wow folks, he seems to be really locked in… He usually doesn't get to triple digits until at least a few innings in… 0-2 is the count on the rookie, who has yet to take the bat off of his shoulder… and here's the 0-2 offer… Just a bit outside… Madison does not like the call… He's giving home plate umpire Vance Hightower a glare… I'm sure that Madison's emotions are running awfully high today… Here's the 1-2 pitch… BALL TWO!!... Oh, my, and Cooper Madison is giving the umpire a piece of his mind… Hightower is a veteran crew chief… he is letting him go a bit… He knows he must be feeling all sorts of mixed emotions on the mound today… Madison makes his way back to the rubber… Winds and delivers… BALL THREE!!... and now Madison is pointing and yelling at Vance Hightower, who is looking off into the Cubs dugout at Skip Parsons as if to say, "Hey you need to step in here!"... and here comes Parsons trotting out and getting in between his star pitcher and the home plate umpire… Oh my, NO, Madison has tossed his manager aside and here comes his catcher Josh Adams to try and grab him… Madison is REALLY steamed at Hightower who has to be asking himself what on EARTH did he do to deserve this… Parsons appears to still be struggling to get up off the ground after Madison tossed him like a rag doll… and now Madison has started to back away… Adams is escorting him away from Hightower… But, WAIT! Madison is now CHARGING at Hightower and... Oh no… he just landed a vicious right hand to the umpire's face and Hightower is DOWN… Oh my! And now we have police officers and players from both sides running onto the field and two of the officers just tackled Madison who is fighting with them now… I have never seen ANYTHING like this in all my years Cubs fans…
Cara felt sick as she watched Cooper struggling with the officers who were trying to subdue him. He looked enraged. Like an animal. The camera had zoomed in on Cooper's face by this point, but suddenly Cooper's face seemed to change as if he had just snapped out of a trance. His look of anger turned to sheer horror and panic as if he was saying, "What have I done?"
As the video came to a close, Cara noticed other videos of the debacle on the page. Some had Rocky music, slow motion, and other effects. There was also a press conference video, and she clicked on that one next.
As the video opened, Cooper Madison stood in front of a Cubs backdrop and behind a podium with an array of microphones from every major television station. He looked down, then slowly up. He took a deep breath, and began:
I would like to start by saying I am sorry… I'm sorry to Vance Hightower, whom I have always had a ton of respect for… I'm sorry to my manager, Skip Parsons, who has always been there for me… I'm sorry to the entire Chicago Cubs organization, Major League Baseball, and the fans… I fully accept my 10 game suspension and $100,000 fine… In addition, I will be making a donation to the Chicago Public School System for an additional $100,000 and will also pay for all of Vance Hightower's medical bills and then some… I am thankful that Mr. Hightower did not press charges, although I would not have blamed him if he did, as my attack on him was inexcusable… Lastly, at this time I would like to announce my retirement from baseball, effective immediately following the 10 game suspension…Thank you…
