The International League Triple-A All-Stars defeated the Pacific Coast League 2-1 Wednesday night after the Durham Bull’s Elliot Johnson singled in a run in the sixth to break a tie. A sell-out crowd of 10,000 watched the event at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Penn.

The Bulls, who start a long homestand tonight (Thursday), lead the International League South Division standings by nine games over Charlotte with a 55-35 record.

The Charlotte Knights come to town for two games before USA Baseball takes over the DBAP over the weekend for a pair of games against Korea. Then the Bulls play eight nights in a row in Durham starting Monday with four against Columbus and four against Syracuse.

Durham Bulls’ Dan Johnson hit 25 home runs to edge Lehigh Valley’s Andy Tracy in the Triple-A Home Run Derby competition Monday night at Lehigh Valley.

Johnson, who leads the International League with 24 home runs and 80 RBIs, beat Tracy in a tiebreaker round after coming from behind with two homers to tie it in regulation. He had the highest combined homer total in the first two rounds with 13 but the numbers are wiped away for the finals.

The News & Observer today appropriately pointed out the connections that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner had with UNC-Chapel Hill. Steinbrenner died this morning of a heart attack in Tampa.

The Steinbrenner family donated a million bucks to the renovation of Boshamer Stadium on the Carolina campus. In fact, when you walk in you pass the Steinbrenner Family Courtyard. Jenny, his daughter, graduated from UNC in 1981. During her years there, Steinbrenner sent the Yankees to Chapel Hill three times for exhibition games.

I was at Carolina during the same era. In fact, noted sportswriter Dick Shaap, who passed away a few years ago himself, called the Daily Tar Heel offices and asked if I would get some information on Jenny for him to include in his then-upcoming book on George Steinbrenner.

I did. Without personal computers then, I forget how I got the info to him but I remember talking to a woman at his house that had a thick foreign accent and I couldn’t figure out if it was a wife, a housekeeper or someone else. I feared that Shaap wouldn’t get my message but he evidently did.

The material made the book, almost one whole page worth, but unfortunately I never even got a free copy of the book, much less any compensation. Oh well. During the team visits, I did get to meet such Yankee icons as Yogi Berra, who was a coach at the time, and Ron Guidry, one of the best Yankee pitchers of all time who the previous season was the best in the league with 25 wins.

While I’m a Red Sox fan and, like most everyone else, I tired of the storylines around Steinbrenner, including the love-hate relationship with Billy Martin, I’m appreciative of Steinbrenner’s support for UNC baseball and the fact that he afforded me opportunities of a lifetime to chat with baseball legends.

DUKE ATHLETICS NEWS RELEASE – Tom D’Armi, a fixture around Duke University athletics for nearly three decades, died Saturday in Wilson, N.C., at the age of 75.

D’Armi coached the Blue Devils’ baseball program for seven seasons and also served as the director of athletic facilities and game management for all of the school’s sports — totaling 28 years of service to the university when he retired in 2004.

As a coach, D’Armi guided Duke baseball to 125 wins and five consecutive winning seasons during his seven-year tenure from 1978-84. He coached eight All-ACC selections and seven Major League Baseball draft picks during that time.

D’Armi’s family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Tom D’Armi Scholarship Fund, c/o Mary Dinkins, Duke Athletics, Box 90542, Durham, NC 27708.

D’Armi was predeceased by his wife Jane D’Armi and is survived by his son Mickey D’Armi. A celebration of his life is being planned for August.

An Associated Press article in the News & Observer today told readers that Eagles QB Michael Vick was a no-show for a football camp in Raleigh this weekend but what it didn’t make clear was that Vick has been barred from leaving Pennsylvania by probation officials.

Vick, who is on probation from a 2007 dogfighting conviction, recently held a birthday party and invited some of the bad element that got him in trouble to begin with. As a result, there was a shooting at the June 25 party in Virginia Beach. He was cleared of criminal wrongdoing but he may have violated his supervised release.

He also is in trouble with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell who reinstated Vick to the NFL in 2009 under conditions – conditions he may have violated. It certainly was a bad idea to have the party and it was a worse idea to invite his old friends.

Vick also missed his own celebrity golf tournament as a result of the order to remain in Pennsylvania. The AP reported that Vick was paid a $2,000 deposit of a $4,000 fee to appear at the Raleigh football camp, which was built around his appearance. Campers paid $175 each and were promised packages that included Vick photos and autographs.

Vick should never have been reinstated. We are a country of second chances, true. But it’s disturbing that we crave celebrity from people who get in trouble more than we crave celebrity from people who do it right the first time. People who have lived their lives well from the get-go don’t seem to be as honored or respected as those who do wrong and then “turn their life around.”

Sometimes we should let a person turn his life around without it including stardom and millions of dollars.