DECEMBER 11
UPDATE
COMMITMENTS
Allison Ling, P, NJ Pride, to Cornell
Katie Chaffin, MIF, OC A’s/Heat Wave, to Howard College, TX
The
Bulldogs signed infielder Katie Vickers, pitcher/utility Jessica
Doucette, catcher Jessica Gilmore, infielder Sojourner Moody, outfielder
Vicki Sanders, and infielder Jennifer Corbin.
Gilmore was a member of the USA Junior World team which won the Silver
medal in
Incidentally,
Sarah
Seagraves, Pitcher, transfer from SE Oklahoma JC (oklahoma state transfer)
Haley Johnston, Infield, transfer from SE Oklahoma JC (Witchita State transfer)
Ashley Frisby, Infield, transfer from Midland College (JC)
Mailei Hilva, 1B, transfer from Midland College (JC)
Rebecca Lebsack, Infield, transfer from Pima College
Sarah O'Neill, utility, freshman from Napa, CA, Sorcerers Gold
Ashley Rahn, catcher, freshman from Alamogordo, NM.
Charlotte NC Lady
Blues Signees
Emily
Forbes left fielder/catcher UNCC signed
Taylor Queen centerfielder Lenior Rhyne signed
Melissa Stuhr Catcher Queens University signed
Ashley Stewart SS/1B Longwood University signed
Abby Threatt Of verbally committed Belmont Abbey College
SOFTBALL TRAGEDY
We
received email from readers in several states about this explosive accident,
which is especially pertinent when so many of us have children coming home for
the holidays.
Terra
Ross, a senior pitcher from
The
following story on this horrific accident, which was reported visually by CNN,
was published in the Orlando Sentinel:
GROVELAND
-- The northbound lanes lanes of the Florida Turnpike, that have been shut down
since
Both lanes were shut down due to Wednesday night's deadly accident when a
southbound Ford Explorer hit a northbound truck carrying explosives for the
military.
The undetonated explosives that were in the truck have been removed by a bomb
squad from Patrick Air Force Base. Authorities would not say where those
explosives were being taken.
A 22-year-old college student from
Kelly Raw, the 18-year-old from
The undetonated explosives that were in the truck have been removed by a bomb
squad from Patrick Air Force Base. Authorities would not say where those
explosives were being taken. Midmorning, a U.S. Army bomb squad from Patrick Air
Force Base, was loading the remaing four containers of blasting caps from the
truck.
The northbound lane should be reopened later today, she added.
Because as many as four cases of ordnance remained unexploded in the charred
truck, a U.S. Army Bomb Squad unit was bringing in a thermal-imaging camera to
look for hot spots in the wreckage. When it was safe, the bomb squad planned to
remove the cases -- each containing 24 blasting caps -- one by one.
Traffic on the turnpike backed up for miles in both directions after the
Tera Marie Ross of Cooper City was was driving south on the turnpike when she
crossed the median in a 2000 Ford Explorer and collided head-on with a
northbound 2002 Volvo freight truck being driven by Glen C. Rice, 48, of
Rockford, Ill., the FHP said.
Ross was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which happened six miles
west of the
Ross' brother, Zachary Ryan Ross, 20, and a friend, Kelly Melissa Raw, 18, of
All three are students at
Rice and his wife, Janice Rice, 56, who was a passenger in the truck, were not
injured.
The collision ruptured one of five cases of blasting caps being taken from an
Jacksonville State University President Bill Meehan said Wednesday night that
Tera Ross was an excellent student and star athlete. The students had just
finished their finals, he said. Tera Ross, a junior, was president of the
student athletic association and last week was inducted into the student athlete
hall of fame because she had a high grade-point average and excelled in sports.
"The entire university community is very saddened by Tera's loss,"
Meehan said.
Softball coach Jana McGinnis said Tera Ross had taken Raw, a freshman, under her
wing, and the two had become close friends during the year.
Tera Ross was a strong pitcher who was tough on the field. But she
"wouldn't hurt a fly," McGinnis said. She was a home-economics major
who got rave reviews from her professors and hoped to be a home-economics
teacher and a wedding planner.
Kelly Raw was a pitcher as well. Last spring, her skills on the playing field
for
AND NAIA TOO
Readers remind us of the many quality players in NAIA,
suggesting that the National Pro Fastpitch League should also look in their
ranks for players. Frankly, so
should the women’s majors teams whose rosters have been picked clean by the
Pro league. May sound like heresy to
some I could name, but, the softball universe is not encompassed by
COACHING CHANGE
The
BRITISH NATIONAL
TEAM SEEKS PLAYERS
Bobby Simpson asked SPY to post this notice. Incidentally, Sara Lockett, who plays 3rd on his team, was drafted by the National Pro Fastpitch League.
The British
Womens National Fastpitch Team is currently seeking
foreign based players that may have the necessary British heritage and softball
skills to assist us in high levels of international softball. If you know of
players that possibly meet the requirements set below, please contact me with
their name, position, and method for contacting them (phones and/or e
mail). Also, please give me enough background as to why you think
they would be eligible and have high enough skills for this level softball. We
finished fourth in the 2003 Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier and have been selected
by the ISF as one of only four teams in the world to play in the
Greek Test Event, the initial use of the 2004 Olympic Softball Stadium, on
March 24-28. Additional international tournaments are scheduled as the team
prepares for a shot at the 2006 World Championships and 2008 Olympics.
Current foreign based players
include a number of current or former NCAA athletes (several all-conference
or All-American) from schools such as
Please check with current and past players
and see if they were born in
ELIGIBILITY: To be eligible, it is very helpful if a person or
at least one of her parents was born in
SKILLS: The player should be highly skilled and capable of performing well
at the collegiate level in the
Bobby
Simpson Philippians 4:13/19
Head Coach of British Women's Fastpitch National Team
http://www.highergroundsoftball.com
bsimpson@friendlycity.net
Higher
Ground
POB 741
Phone:
800-892-7360
Phone: 229-386-9770
Fax: 229-386-9774
Krissy
Chrisztopulosz of Aurora Ontario has been awarded the prestigious Petro-Canada
Olympic Torch Scholarship for a fourth consecutive year.
Recipients of the Petro-Canada Olympic Torch Scholarship Fund are selected by a
panel of judges from the Canadian Olympic Committee. The criteria for
selection includes a letter of recommendation by the Provincial and/or National
Sport Organization, athletic proficiency at an elite level, contribution to the
development of the sport and involvement in the community. Athletes
must be enrolled and in good standing in a post secondary school educational
program.
Over the past four years Krissy has consistently been named one of the top
softball players in
Petro-Canada is one of
CHRISTMAS
NOSTALGIA
A bookstore I favor had a rack of holiday CDs at the register, including a remaster of an old LP featuring Der Bingle (Bing Crosby) and the Chairman of the Board (Frank Sinatra), who made this platter when both were under contract to the same recording studio. Never in better voice, the CD is worth the price just to hear the banter between these two icons of show business, who were both noted for their quick repartee.
Restless last night, I went down to my film library (about
a thousand films) and decided to watch Raise
the Titanic. Made well before
the discovery of the wreck site, the movie was based on long-held beliefs that
the temperature at the 2-mile-down depth would inhibit marine life, ergo, the
great liner could be in one piece, and salvageable.
Wrong. Interesting however,
is that I taped the movie off HBO 20-odd years ago, when films were interrupted
every 10 minutes for commercials etc. Saw
Charles and Diana leaving the hospital with their baby son.
Especially interesting was the pitch to buy Cabbage Patch dolls, which
came with their own birth certificates, etc.
Demand was so great that people were placing ads in the newspapers,
offering as much as $300 for the $29 doll. I
spotted one at Kai Tek airport in