The rock band Rush is from Canada, but lead singer Geddy Lee is obsessed with America's pastime -- baseball. Lee, whose band is on the "Time Machine" tour, took time out to talk with Page 2 about his love affair:
You're Canadian and a baseball fan. So why baseball over hockey?
I did enjoy baseball as a child, but I grew up a hockey fan watching the Leafs as a child. But unlike most Canadians, I did not play the game, and I rediscovered baseball while touring the U.S. in the late '70s and I fell in love with the game and its history.
We've heard you play fantasy baseball. What's your team name?
Yes, I am a huge devotee of the hobby, but I can't tell you.
Biggest stud/dud on you fantasy roster?
Stud is Adam Wainwright and dud is Jose Lopez.
Tell us about your donation to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum?
A few years back, I visited the Negro League Museum in Kansas City and was so impressed with the exhibits and moved by the story, which many baseball fans like myself are surprisingly unaware of. I happen to be a collector of baseball memorabilia and a friend of mine spotted this collection at an auction, so we hatched a plan to buy them and donate them to the museum. I just thought that they belonged in the museum and not in private hands. The collection was divided into two lots of 200 balls each, and we were successful in purchasing one of the lots. But after my donation became public, I discovered who had purchased the second lot, and after approaching them, they were kind enough to allow me to purchase the remainder of the balls in order to donate the complete collection of over 400 balls to the museum. I recently visited the museum again, and the balls are now beautifully displayed.