the als challenge

a couple of weeks ago, oscar from all trade bait all the time nominated me to take the als challenge.  as everybody knows by now, this challenge can involve dumping a bucket of ice water over yourself, but you may not know that it doesn't have to.

as i understand it, the challenge is to donate to a charity supporting research (and hopefully a cure) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or as it is commonly known, lou gehrig's disease.  since this is a baseball card blog, here's a 2012 topps lou gehrig gold standard insert.

you probably know that gehrig retired in 1939 as a result of the disease and the effect it had on his ability to play baseball, but did you know that gehrig was second in career home runs to teammate babe ruth at the time of his retirement?

anyway, i have accepted oscar's challenge, but rather than not donate and pour ice water over myself as punishment, i've made a donation to the minnesota chapter of the als association.  one of its founding members is former twins first baseman kent hrbek, whose father died of the disease.

here's a more informative piece on the subject of donating.

thanks oscar for the nomination, and while i won't nominate anyone specifically, i encourage my fellow bloggers to consider a donation to this or another charity of their choosing.