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• Supercenter: Still a part of Lodi's future?

• 'I've been doing good'

• Firefighters to raise funds at golf tournament

• Lodi likely to see more smoke; may worsen over the weekend

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• President Obama's first year (67)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (49)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (31)

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GrapeSox pitcher Adam Dedeaux grandson of legend

Rarely, if ever, will one of Adam Dedeaux's teammates top his claim to fame.

Of all of the Lodi GrapeSox players, Adam Dedeaux is the only one whose grandfather was named the College Baseball Coach of the Century by Baseball America.

Dedeaux, a left-handed pitcher who recently finished his sophomore year at the University of Southern California, is the grandson of legendary former USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux.

Rod Dedeaux coached the Trojans for 45 seasons from 1942-86, winning 11 College World Series crowns and 28 conference titles. He retired with more wins (1,332) than any other college baseball coach.

Adam Dedeaux says he misses his famous grandfather more each year. The elder Dedeaux passed away in 2006 at age 91 from complications of a stroke.

"When I was younger, we used to sit and talk about the game and life for hours. I was very close to him," said Dedeaux, now 22. "Now that I am older, I understand the things he was trying to explain to me. That's why, more than anything, I miss talking with him now."

Rod Dedeaux left more than just a huge legacy for his grandson, who plays on the aptly named Dedeaux Field at USC. Adam's father, Terry, and his uncle, Justin, both coached under the eldest Dedeaux's regime at USC.

It was that family heritage that appealed to GrapeSox owner Stevie Mac, who recruited Dedeaux by way of Trojans pitching coach Tom House.

"Adam is a very intelligent left-handed reliever. He knows the game very well," Mac said. "I mean, with the kind of baseball family he has, how could he not be?"

A business major at USC, Dedeaux demonstrates the same work ethic taught to him by his grandfather who sent 59 players to the pros, including Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver and sluggers Mark McGwire and Fred Lynn.

"He was the most energetic man I ever knew. He started in the trucking business with one truck back in the Great Depression and built Dart Transportation, Inc. into the worldwide company that it is today," said the younger Dedeaux. "I learned from him how to work hard all the time, both on and off the field."

Dedeaux said one of his grandfather's favorite lines was, "Don't make the same mistake once."

"He hated mental errors and he thought every player on the team should learn from each other's mistakes," he said. "He felt if you were paying attention and had your head in the game and saw that player's mistake, then you shouldn't make it yourself when you got to play."

Not that Rod Dedeaux was so serious about the game that he didn't like to have fun.

"What stands out in my mind is how much fun I had," Dedeaux said. "He's a guy who's so clever, so witty, so sharp that he made it fun just to be around him, and I was so blessed that he just happened to be my grandfather on top of it."

According to local resident John Johnson, who pitched for Rod Dedeaux at USC from 1983-86, the legend indeed loved for his teams to have fun.

"Rod was old school. If you were not a scholarship player or a recruited player, you earned everything you got from your hat to your uniform to your locker," said Johnson. "At the end of a victory, Rod would come to the locker room and we would sing the song 'MacNamara's Band.' He loved it."

Asked about that song, Adam Dedeaux broke out in a wide smile.

"It was an old Irish fight song and sometimes there was a little dance step called The Dedeaux Shuffle," Adam Dedeaux said. "There are some lines in the song that were my grandfather's favorite that showed how deeply he cared about his players and his family."

"My name is MacNamara,
I'm the leader of a band,
And though we're small in number,
We're the best in all the land."