David King: Schilling plays bad guy for good cause
Web Posted: 06/02/2006 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
MySanAntonio.com
Oh sure, just about anyone who pitches in the big leagues has to have a little bit of a nasty streak. But Schilling never will be known as the second coming of Sal "The Barber" Maglie, so named for his penchant for pitching high and tight.
At least not in baseball.
On the other hand, in the virtual world, Schilling is getting ready to be one of the nastier characters around, at least if a release from Sony Online Entertainment is any indication.
Schilling is a dedicated player of the online game EverQuest II, reveling in the anonymity of a cyber world of "mythical creatures, magic spells, majestic landscapes and fierce dragons" and shaking off those rough outings with some virtual adventures.
Starting Sunday, Schilling will become one of those mythical characters, an "epically awesome, loot-dropping virtual bad guy."
And all for a good cause.
EverQuest players who log in through the Web site www.BattleALS.com will be able to duel with a bad guy named, cleverly, "Curt Schilling." During the character's three-day appearance in the game, anytime it is defeated, Sony will donate $5 to the ALS Association (up to a maximum of 2,000 whippings).
The promotion coincides with a series between the Red Sox and the Yankees at that real-life majestic landscape, Yankee Stadium, although there's no word if George "The Fierce Dragon" Steinbrenner will be there. Schilling's son Gehrig (named after Lou Gehrig, who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) will be the first player to face his dad's evil doppelganger.
The bad guy (Schilling, not Steinbrenner) will stay in the game after the series, but there's no charitable motivation after Tuesday. Players also can donate to ALS without dueling the evil Schilling by typing "/ALS" within the game.