Recently, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), in the Dominican Republic, began setting up a branch in the town of San Pedro de Macoris, the legendary "City of Shortstops" and home town to two of baseball's most priminent young stars, Alfonso Soriano and Robinson Cano, among other present and former major leaguers. This new branch is set to open its doors with the beginning of the upcoming school year. However, that opening is in jeopardy because it is seriously underfunded. On Friday, July 25, the university held a telethon on a local television channel in an effort to raise 14-15 million Dominican pesos (About US$450,000) in order to make this opening a reality. In an effort to drum up support for the telethon, they asked for the help of Cano and Soriano with a personal appeal to Cano's father and Soriano himself. For whatever reasons, whether personal obligations or otherwise, neither participated. At the end of the telethon, the university managed to raise a grand total of about RD$2,900,000 (or roughly US$85,000.00).

As a Yankee fan I know, and am grateful, that Cano has been busy tearing up the baseball field since the All-Star break. I hope and trust that, before it's too late, he, Soriano, Sammy Sosa, and the other petromacorisano players and former players out there will help to make this new extension of the UASD a reality.