The John Challis effect is showing up in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Challis is the former Freedom High School athlete whose inspiring battle with cancer turned into a national story this spring and summer before he died in August. The manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Maddon, was so moved by Challis' story and his one-time meeting with Challis, that he is helping to promote sales of a T-shirt to benefit Challis' foundation.

Before Challis passed away, it was his idea to start a foundation to raise money for kids with cancer who wanted to enjoy a sports experience. The Courage For Life Foundation was started in the summer and Maddon gave the foundation permission to sell T-shirts with one of Maddon's favorite sayings on the front: "All Aboard Maddon's Bus. There's a Different Bus Driver Every Night."

The shirts cost $17.99 and are available at courageforlifefoundation.org. All proceeds benefit the foundation.

Maddon also writes "C+B=L" on his lineup card for every game. It stands for "Courage + Believe = Life," which became Challis' motto. But there is even more to the story.

"We've seen coach Maddon in playoff games wearing John's bracelet," said Scott Challis, John's father. "It's a bracelet from the foundation that has John's saying on it. It's really unbelievable and touching to see him wearing that."

Scott Challis communicates with Maddon by e-mail at least once a week. Maddon also has stayed in contact with Freedom baseball coach Steve Wetzel.

"He has sent text messages this summer saying things like 'I feel like John was with us in this game,' " Wetzel said.

Maddon first saw John Challis' story on ESPN and read newspaper stories about him. He was so moved that he invited John to PNC Park and the Rays' clubhouse when the team played in Pittsburgh this summer.

In his office, Maddon has a shadow box containing a jersey, an autographed baseball and an autographed dollar bill. All are from Challis.

The baseball reads "Best of luck in the future." The dollar bill was from when Challis met Maddon and called the team the Devil Rays -- the correct name until November 2007, when the team became simply the "Rays." There has been a running joke this season that anyone who calls the team "Devil Rays" must pay the team $1.

"Joe Maddon is a very gracious man and everything he says about our son is just amazing," Scott Challis said. "People have said John's legacy will live forever. I guess this is an example.

"I've e-mailed Joe and told him he has an angel in the batter's box."

It's not unusual to see a soccer player on a football team. But most of the time, the soccer players are kickers in football. That's what makes Tom Birko's situation unusual.

Birko is one of the top scorers on Montour's soccer team, which has qualified for the WPIAL playoffs. But he also is one of Montour's top receivers in football and has scored two touchdowns this season.

Birko is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior who also plays basketball and baseball at the school.

Avonworth is 7-0 and could finish the regular season undefeated for the first time since 1959 when the Antelopes were 8-0.

Beaver Falls is undefeated and hasn't finished a regular season without a loss or tie since 1978.

Highlands also is 7-0 and the previous time the Rams finished the regular season unbeaten was 1976, but they had a 7-0-2 record.

Lindsay Cowher, the youngest of Bill Cowher's three daughters, has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at Wofford, a Division I college in Spartanburg, S.C. Lindsay, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, played her freshman season at Fox Chapel before transferring to Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, N.C. She averaged 15.9 points and 8.1 rebounds as a junior.

Michelle Walker, a 6-foot-2 forward at West Allegheny, has made a verbal commitment to Duquesne University.

Walker will be the third member of her family to play Division I basketball. Andrea Walker is a junior on Ohio State's team. Natalie Walker played at American University.

Michelle Walker is the third WPIAL player from the class of 2009 to choose Duquesne. The others are Beaver forward Carly Vendemia and Washington guard Jocelyn Floyd. All three will sign a letter of intent during the NCAA's week-long early signing period in November.