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Anne-Marie Garcia

Oldest living ex-big leaguer turns 102 in Cuba

Last updated Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 6:21pm

HAVANA — Put another candle on the very crowded birthday cake of Conrado Marrero, the oldest living former major league player.

The Cuban pitcher celebrated his 102nd birthday Thursday at his modest Havana apartment surrounded by family and friends, an unlit Cuban cigar in his mouth and a baseball cap on his head.

He was given an enormous blue and white cake, and savored a glass of wine and a sip of Bucanero, Cuba’s domestic beer. Marrero smiled as his family applauded and smothered him in hugs.

Cuba, Sports, Baseball Read more Comments

Double-amputee in Cuba sets sights on London games

Anne-Marie Garcia The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, March 15, 2012 - 11:21pm

HAVANA -- Damian Lopez was 13 when he tried to untangle his kite from electrical wires dangling over a street corner and accidentally touched a high-voltage cable.

The 13,000 volts that coursed through his body cost him both his forearms, melted much of the skin from his face and left him in a coma from which doctors predicted he would never emerge.

Cycling, Olympics, Paralympics, London Olympics, Sports Read more Comments

Cuba looks to kids to recover faded boxing glory

Anne-Marie Garcia The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 7:43pm

HAVANA -- Lazaro Perez jabs rhythmically at his rival in a steamy Havana gym, dancing, feinting and punctuating each blow with a grunt.

After the final bell, he thrusts a weary arm skyward in triumph, and a proud smile spreads across a face still years from feeling a razor's scrape. Perez has just become Havana's first under-75-pound (34-kilogram) boxing champion in a new age category for 9- and 10-year-olds.

Boxing, Sports, Mixed Martial Arts Read more Comments

Defections prompt calls for change in Cuban sports

Anne-Marie Garcia The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 8:03pm

HAVANA -- Cuba's version of the New York Yankees, the powerhouse Industriales, won the country's 2010 baseball championship with lights-out pitching by Armando Rivero and Joan Socarras and stellar hitting from Leguim Barroso.

All three players have since defected, along with four other members of the championship squad, leaving the punchless team struggling to a losing season this year.

MLB, Sports, Baseball Read more Comments

U.S. softball players try sports diplomacy in Cuba

Anne-Marie Garcia The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, November 16, 2009 - 8:04pm

HAVANA -- Softball has been a passion for Michael Eizenberg since he was a child, but the 63-year-old has never been as excited about a game as the one played Monday on a children's ball field at a faded sports complex under Havana's warm Caribbean sun.

Olympics, Sports, Softball Read more Comments