DECEMBER 10 2007 UPDATE
COMMITMENTS
Ashley Decker - '09 2B/OF, Sorcerer Gold-Phil, to U.C.Berkeley
Arianna Welch of the Lady Sharks Gold - Piper -- Committed to San Francisco State University
Kirsten Patterson; AZ Lil Saints Gold; 2008; 1B/OF committed to Middle Tennessee State University
Lauren (Lulu) Irwin; AZ Lil Saints Gold; 2008; OF/3B committed to Highlands University(NM)
Courtney Repka (2009) RHP for Tx Magic Gold(Howe) verbal commitment to Baylor University.
Sylvia Parker, 2008 OF West Bay Nuggets Gold committed to Simpson University in Redding Ca.
Sara Bradley 09 / Mattoon High School / Midland Magic committed to Illinois State University
Marissa McGinley OKC EDGE-Putnam City High School righthand pitcher verbally committed to Rose State College and will sign Jan. 15th 2008.
Kelly Bowen 08 OF, Delaware Storm, Signed with Mount Olive College in North Carolina
Worth Firecrackers Gold “Tony Rico”
2009 Pitcher Ensley Gammel University of Florida Gators
South Carolina signs nine
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina head softball coach Joyce Compton announces the addition of seven new players, as Audrey Broyles (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter), Evan Childs (Conway, S.C/Conway), Kelsey Goodwin (Houston, Texas/Lamar H.S.), Lauren Lackey (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Temescal Canyon), Kandyce Redondo (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter), Kristen Stubblefield (Corona, Calif./Corona) and Kaitlin Westfall (Macon, Ga./Mount de Sales Academy) have all signed National Letters of Intent with the Gamecocks.
Tallahassee Community College
Danielle Fecca- 1st base/catcher- NJ Nightmare
Deanna Fecca- 3rd/Catcher- NJ Nightmare
Anne Tragesser-SS- Brevard Stealers Gold
Morgan Grove- Pitcher- Gold Coast Hurricanes (Petrone)
Arizona State Signings
Nikole Afusia, C, CA Cruisers
Lexi Anderson, MI, Am Pastime
Hilary Bach, P, Tulsa Eagles
Christina Zambrana, MI, CA Cruisers
Katelyn Boyd, IF, AZ Hotshots Gold
Taylor Hare, IF, AZ Hotshots Gold Gatti
Annie Lockwood, AZ Hotshots Gold
California Breeze Gold coached by Don Mashburn 2008 Signings
Stephanie Burlew - P, OF - Southern Oregon University
Cassie Emerson - INF - St. Francis University (PA)
Megan Layne - P, OF - St. Francis University (PA)
Ashleigh Rahming - P, OF - University of Evansville
Ashburn Shooting Stars 18U Gold
Lauren Topper 2008 grad, catcher/3rd base attending Forest Park HS, has committed to Chipola College in Florida.
Nicole Daily 2008 grad, 1st base/3rd base attending Millbrook HS, has committed to Radford University in Virginia.
2008 WA Lake Breeze Gold
signings:
Cory Mattson - Pitcher - UNC Greensboro
Jordan Birch - Pitcher - Illinois State
Hillary Barker - Pitcher/1st - Dartmouth (applying ED)
Ashley Todd - SS/3rd - Penn State
Skyler Peterson - 1st - Texas Tech
Carly Feiro - OF/2nd - Lafayette
Jill Barnett - C/1st – Toledo
AZ Hotshots Gold - Neuman, early signings
Krista Hicks 08, SS/3B, Dobson High School, Brigham Young University
Kirstin Linert 08, P/UTL, Sandra Day O'Connor, Idaho State University
Michiana Cruisers Gold
Sarah Patterson to Central Michigan University, 2008 P/1B (Okemos High School, MI)
Ashley Ellis to Florida Chipola College, 2008 OF/Slapper (Noblesville High School, IN)
Megan Olson to Purdue North Central University, 2008 OF/Slapper (Hobart High School, IN)
SoCal Sliderz Gold Class of 2008 Early Signees:
Briana “BoBo” Brown, SS (North High School), Witchita State University
Krista Cobb, Pitcher (El Camino HS), UC Santa Barbara
Lainey DePompa, Catcher (Crescenta Vallley HS), UC Santa Barbara
Alianna Telles, SS (Sylmar HS), Marshall University
Elizabeth Tsipouras, Pitcher, (Royal HS), Sacred Heart University
Ashleigh Viers-Gordillo, 1st, (Crescenta Vally HS), Boise State University
MIKE RICHDALE
Mike Richdale, who died December 6, was the founder of both the Northwest Lady Sharks as well as the San Jose Lady Sharks Fastpitch organizations. Mike led his 1996 San Jose Lady Sharks to a 16A National Championship. The following year, Mike’s team took 4th in the 18 Gold division. Mike and his family moved to Kirkland in 1999 and soon opened a batting cage and training facility in Woodinville called “The Designated Hitter”. From there, he started the Northwest Lady Sharks organization. The Sharks posted this notice:
Dear Friends, Sadly Mike Richdale lost his battle with brain cancer on Tuesday, Dec. 6. He was an inspiration to all of us and he leaves behind quite a legacy! Our hearts go out to Jenna, Courtney, Carinne, Sam, and Rachel as well as Mike's sister Kathy and the rest of the family. You are invited to a Memorial Service to celebrate Mike's life on Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 1:30 PM at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church. The address is 10021 NE 124th St., Kirkland, WA 98034. Please dress casually. *If you wish to make a donation in lieu of flowers please donate to the Richdale Family Fund c/o Jenna Richdale. These can be made at the Memorial Service or mailed to: 10411 NE 136th Pl., Kirkland, WA 98034
Blessings,
Julie and Kevin
"Sharks Bite Hard!"
PITCHER NEEDED
Union University in Jackson, Tennessee is looking for a pitcher for this upcoming season (January 2008). Please email if interested hhall@uu.edu
Thanks. Heather Hall
CATCHERS NEEDED
I am the new softball coach at Hampton University. I am in need of a JUCO catcher to come in next semester.
Regina Gibbons
Hampton University
Head Softball Coach
757-728-6747
Southeast Missouri State (NCAA D1) currently has a scholarship available for a catcher for this upcoming 2008 spring semester. Available Junior college or transfer interested may email the coaching staff lrichmond@semo.edu or jsoncini@semo.edu
NPF NEWS
Thunder Inks
Jessup to Contract
Jessup first to sign after off-season trade
ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Rockford Thunder has signed catcher and outfielder
Krista Jessup, team General Manager Aaron M. Moore announced today. Per
team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Jessup, 23, is entering her third season in the NPF after playing her first
two with in-state rival Chicago Bandits. In her two seasons she has seen
action at catcher, right field and designated player. She is a career .132
hitter, collecting seven hits in 53 lifetime at-bats. In 2006, she was
limited to just 35 at-bats due to a thumb injury.
ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Rockford Thunder and the Rock River Raptors announced today that they will co-host a holiday party on Saturday, Dec. 15 from 4 –7 p.m. at the its indoor training facility (209 N. 3rd St., Rockford, 61101).
THANKS FOR CARING
Just turned on the computer, almost 500 emails, including a few wondering if I am okay, and some much appreciated postings on UCS Forum.
I was in Johns Hopkins this past week for my annual head to toe examination via c-scans, much blood work and other invasive procedures -- stomach, liver, lungs, prostate, colon. are all cancer free, according to the print outs I received late Thursday. Had to drive home during a snow storm; four hours to go 40 miles. Hell of a thing if I crashed, having just learned that I am cancer free (for a while). Heart is sound. Diabetes a problem. New drug taken orally is ineffective; on top of all the others, also makes me drowsy, so tomorrow I start taking injections. I can stop taking two drugs, but on Thursday they added two more, so the net is three injections a day and ten drugs. But, I feel semi-sedated at times during the day, so Sammy and I take naps. Too many drugs! I think my body has difficulty handling that load. When I am on the road, I stop everything but the insulin injections, otherwise I would fall asleep at the wheel or at games. The diabetes is affecting my eyesight and compounding the neuropathy, knotting up my hands and making typing difficult and painful.
Missed the 240pm flight from Las Vegas to St Louis where I planned to overnight with my nephew, watch the Oklahoma game, then fly to DC the next morning. Instead, I sat in the LV airport from 230pm until 1am, flew to Dallas, the 8am flight was delayed because the engines wouldn't start. Home at noon! Sunday was a wasted day; the first medical appt was Monday. Craps was a downer; should have quit when I was a century note ahead. Mind boggler: Eugene Lenti and I had one end of the table to ourselves until we were joined by a former fighter pilot who was betting $5,000 at a time we would crap out. We did. One of those weeks you like to forget.
But, I am compiling a master schedule for 2008, including my own travel, which will begin with San Diego’s rescheduled tourney in January.
PEOPLE
Julie Eversgerd is leaving NCAA and returning to ASA/USA Softball as director of communications. Julie won the appreciation of the press in her previous stint as deputy then even more running the World Series press room for NCAA. She and Holly will make a great team.
Bas Stevens, long-time friend and Canadian softball source, is back home after a hip disarticulation (amputation) to stop the spread of cancer. Says he is feeling great. Had some bad surgical experiences leading up to that decision, but Bas says the doctors assured him the cancer had not spread. Be well; see you at Canada Cup!
Kaitlin Cochran will be more than happy to say goodbye to 2007. The fleet hitter for Arizona State missed out on national team competition after suffering an injury at the Canada Cup. Fully recovered, she was hit in the face at practice a few weeks ago, requiring laser surgery, according to coach Clint Myers, who adds she will be ready for the upcoming season when much is expected of this very talented youngster.
NATIONAL TEAM WILL PLAY HOKIES
BLACKSBURG - The Virginia Tech softball team added an exhibition contest to its schedule Friday, adding a date with the U.S. Women's National Softball Team in a game that will be played at Oklahoma City and will be tape-delayed for an ESPN or ESPN2 broadcast.
The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) extended an offer to the Hokies to play the National Team as part of the team's Bound 4 Beijing Tour. The game will be played on Tuesday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m., Central, 7:30 p.m., Eastern. It will be played at Oklahoma City's Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the Women's College World Series.
"We're obviously very excited to be given the opportunity by ASA to take on the U.S. National team," said Tech head coach Scot Thomas. "This is a tremendous opportunity for our players to go up against the best in the world and is something they'll never forget. We're hoping that this will be the first of two trips for us to Oklahoma City this year. "For that to happen, we know we have a lot of work to do between now and May. But hopefully this trip will be incentive for them to work hard and do what's necessary to get back to Oklahoma City."
The
tour will kick off Feb. 19 with a game against back-to-back national champions,
the University of Arizona Wildcats. The 2008 Women's National Team will make 42
stops across the country competing in over 60 games. The team will compete
against NCAA Division I opponents, Regional All-Star teams as well as
International Competition.
Highlighting the tour will be six-consecutive weekly national televised games on ESPN2 in April and May along with four other games slated for July, rounding out over 20 hours of softball programming on the ESPN family of networks.
The team, from which the U.S. Olympic squad will be selected, will also return to the venue where it has secured back-to-back World Cup Titles as it will make two stops in Oklahoma City at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex, March 24-26 (Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech) and June 6-8. The six games in Oklahoma City will be a part of the televised package including an International match up against a 2008 Olympic opponent on June 8. The broadcast date of Tech's game against the Red, White and Blue has not been set.
The date worked out well for the defending ACC champions as the original schedule had them open that week, thus no games had to be moved to accommodate the exhibition contest.
ISF UPDATE
ISF PRESIDENT
ATTENDS OLYMPIC MEETINGS
International
Softball Federation (ISF) President Don Porter attended the recent International
Federations (IF) Forum in Lausanne, Switzerland, that was organized by the
Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, Association of Winter
Olympic International Federations, and General Association of International
Sports Federations. He also attended the European Olympic Committees General
Assembly in Valencia, Spain.
Earlier Mr. Porter had attended the World Boxing Championship in Chicago at the invitation of C.K. Wu, the new president of the International Boxing Association.
Next week the ISF president will be at the International Coaching College being held at the ISF world headquarters in Plant City, Florida (see item in third column). He is also scheduled to travel to Aruba for meetings with national softball federation and National Olympic Committee officials, along with Pan American Softball Confederation President Jesús Suniaga and Secretary General Julio Hellburg.
SEA GAMES
SOFTBALL STARTS SATURDAY
The 24th
Southeast Asian Games get underway today in Thailand. Men’s and women’s (fast
pitch) softball are both on the programme. Beginning Saturday, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand will compete in men’s play,
while the women’s will be comprised of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore,
and Thailand. The Philippines won the gold medal in both men’s and women’s
softball at the last SEA Games (2005 in Manila). This year’s competition, which
ends December 13, will be taking place at Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University
. Softball (men’s, women’s, or both) is on the programme of at least 15
different multisport games.
TEAMS BEING
SOUGHT
International
softball teams – both men’s and women’s – are being sought for participation in
the next Senior World Cup. The seventh edition of the annual event will take
place June 20-22 in Salem, Virginia (USA). Teams are encouraged to bring an
umpire from their country as well. For more information, contact ISF Director of
Senior Softball RB Thomas at
Issa94@aol.com or visit
www.seniorsoftball.org.
HIGH LEVEL
COURSE NEXT WEEK AT ISF
One week from
today, 34 coaches from 17 different countries will be in attendance for the
start of the International Coaching College. This edition is for the Americas,
although seven of the attendees are coming from other regions. Being held at
the ISF world headquarters in Plant City, Florida, the four-day course is a
high-level session put on in partnership with the National Fastpitch Coaches
Association. Three months ago the ICC for Asia/Oceania was held in Australia,
and next month Italy will host the college being offered for attendees from
Africa/Europe. Those registered for next week are coming from Aruba, Bahamas,
Belize, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Jamaica, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Spain, U.S. Virgin Islands, USA, and
Venezuela.
CHRISTMAS LAMENT
Christmas in New York was a magical time. You wandered with friends down Fifth Avenue, munching on a roasted pretzel, gazing at the superb Christmas windows at Saks, Cartier, Bonwit Teller, and of course you spent an hour or more at FAO Schwartz with all of the great train sets, before repairing to the ice rink to watch the skaters and admire the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. On the Sunday between the holidays, you had a table at the Palm Court in the Plaza for a champagne brunch featuring eggs Benedict. Down in Washington, within 2 blocks, you were dazzled by the windows at Garfinkels, Woodies, Hechts and other stores. The best men’s store of the day, Raleighs, had an invitation-only men’s night, with food and drink. Time was the big stores had their own decorators on staff. But, as the Washington Post noted today, the big stores have closed downtown and are now in the malls. My children are busy with their careers, so I will journey alone to New York between Christmas and New Year, just to see the sights – and remember. One Christmas brunch at the Plaza will always stand out; a group of us who had broken bread together in Paris, Rome, Geneva, London, the famous European ski resorts, and a few places which God must have forgotten, flew in from all parts of the globe for a reunion, which lasted most of the day. Sadly, it was our last reunion. I may attend a CIA alumni reunion to which I have been invited, just to hoist a glass in toast to so many “absent companions.”
WORST CHRISTMAS CAROLS
A survey on AOL reports (descending order)
Madonna “Santa Baby”
Paul McCartney “Wonderful Christmas Time”
Emily P “Christmas Train”
Destiny’s Child “Eight Days of Christmas”
Bruce Springsteen “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
Cyndi Lauper “Christmas Conga”
Beach Boys “Santa’s Beard”
Clay Aiken “Merry Christmas with Love”
Ramones “Merry Christmas”
“Oi to the World”
John Denver “Please Daddy don’t get drunk”
“Do They Know”
Other surveys listed:
“The Cat Carol”
“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth”
“I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus”
“Here Comes Santa Claus”
“Little Drummer Boy”
“Christmas Shoes”
“Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses
Annie Haslam “O Come Immanuel”
“Grandma got run over by a reindeer”
Chuck Berry “Santa Claus go straight to the ghetto”
“Santa Claus is coming on a boogie woogie train”
Wham “Last Christmas”
Barbra Streisand “Christmas Love Song”
“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas”
“The 12 pains of Christmas”
“I’m getting nuttin’ for Christmas”
Several surveys listed McCartney’s carol as the worst. Of course, several bloggers listed all songs featuring animal sounds, and a few disliked “Twelve Days of Christmas” because it is played endlessly at the malls; I concur. Favorite boyhood memory: midnight Mass in the old wooden church my grandfather helped build, my cousin Francine singing “Ave Maria”, wearing the linen surplice my mother made while I read the Christmas gospel according to St. Luke.
POTPOURRI
Adios, mi pesos. Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim sank $2 billion into Comp USA which is being sold and liquidated after the holidays.
From yesterday’s Oklahoman: (their source was Harper’s magazine):
90 Estimated percentage of women’s college sports teams that were coached by women when Title IX was enacted in 1992.
42 Percentage today.
4 Maximum number of unsaved players permitted per team in a Massachusetts evangelical softball league.