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EAST LANSING, MI - Brendan Santo died of accidental drowning, according to a toxicology report released Monday. The 18-year-old from Rochester Hills went missing Oct. 29, 2021 on the Michigan State University campus. His body was found in the Red Cedar River shortly after midnight on Jan. 21. The Ingham County Medical Examiner’s Office report, released on March 14, also indicated a high alcohol content in Santo’s blood and urine. Santo, a Grand Valley State University freshman, had a 0.22% “blood ethanol concentration” and a 0.301% “urine ethanol concentration,” the toxicology report shows. Ethanol is commonly found in alcohol beverages...

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — In one of baseball's sweetest traditions, Stan Musial would play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on his harmonica for the so-called seventh-inning stretch of baseball's Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Johnny Bench has stepped in for the 91-year-old Musial, doing a pretty good Harry Caray imitation. On Sunday, in Ron Santo's honor, Bench put on a Cubs jersey before he went to the podium and slipped into character. "Ron would have loved it," Vicki Santo, Ron's widow, said afterward. "He and Johnny were such good friends. He would have thought it was hysterical. He would...

On Sunday’s “Face the Nation” on CBS, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum explained that his view of the Trayvon Martin shooting differed significantly from the one held by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Gingrich was critical of President Barack Obama’s reaction, but Santorum placed the blame on accused shooter George Zimmerman’s mental state. “Well, you know, obviously, I’m not privy to what’s going on in someone’s mind,” Santorum said. “Obviously, in my opinion, someone … has a very sick mind who would pursue someone like this. This is clearly a heinous act. You know, there are a lot of people...

Cubs great earns election to Hall via Golden Era Committee DALLAS -- Ron Santo is clicking his heels in heaven. Santo, the enthusiastic, popular and very resilient former Cubs third baseman, was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday by the Golden Era Committee. Santo was one of 10 candidates on a ballot representing the era of the sport from 1947-72. "I can see him sitting on the sofa here and he'd be pumping his fist in the air, saying, 'Yes, yes,'" Santo's wife Vicki said Monday from her Arizona home. "We feel he was meant to...

Broadcast partner recalls unpredictable events, warm greeting when he started in Chicago

There will be many measures of the man remembered this weekend and beyond, but perhaps one above many, if not most, should tell you a few things about Ron Santo, who died at 70 Thursday in Arizona. At a reunion of the 1969 Cubs, held at catcher Randy Hundley's annual fantasy camp, twenty years after their run at the National League East title collapsed against the Miracle Mets' onrush, the abrasive manager of that team apologised publicly to the nine-time All-Star third baseman who was considered as much the soul of the team as Ernie Banks was its heart. "I...

Legendary Chicago Cubs player and broadcaster Ron Santo died Thursday night in Arizona. He was 70. Friends of Santo's family said the North Side icon lapsed into a coma on Wednesday before dying Thursday. Santo died of complications from bladder cancer, WGN-AM 720 reported.

Legendary Cub Ron Santo said Monday he has to have surgery to remove tumors from his bladder. During an interview on WGN-AM, Santo said a recent physical found blood in his urine and that doctors then discovered the tumors. The tests showed the tumors were contained and doctors were optimistic about his prognosis, he said. The nine-time All-Star planned to fly to Phoenix to consult with doctors and hoped to have the surgery by the end of this week. "I feel once they get those (tumors) out, I'll be fine," he said. Considering the Cubs are postseason winners for the...