OCTOBER 23 2007 UPDATE
THE FIRES
Andy Anderson and other softball friends, Chargers players and others are fighting
Fires in and around San Diego. At noon Tuesday, Escondido was in danger; at 2pm, the decision was to postpone the tournament until January. As Andy said, “we had it set up to be the best ever, with field conditions and field crews, the camp, free food for college coaches, a coaches dinner, and it all fell through. Wonder how the college coaches like their shorter recruit window? Gary lost a Saturday two weeks ago and several games last weekend. Weather calls for rain at Rising Stars and I am forced to postpone.” Those of us in the Santa Ana area waiting for a decision can smell the smoke; we wait for news – and pray. A terrible thing – to lose your home; it’s not just the loss of possessions – it’s part of your history.
COMMITMENTS
So Cal Breakers Gold
Kelly Majam 08 OF/P University of Hawaii
Hannah Clements 08 OF University of Utah
Lorena Vela 08 2B/SS North Carolina Charlotte
Alex Wilkinson 08 C/3B Point Loma Nazarene
MORE TOURNAMENT RECAPS
See photos at bottom of page
SURF CITY
So Cal Pride vs. RBI Monarchs at Tewinkle Park. Smoke from the Anaheim Hills fire quickly spread over field. Pride was supposed to play Renegades but team needed to go back to San Diego.
The Washington
Bulldogs Gold-Grogan,
went 6-1 during the Surf City tournament. The Bulldogs were led by S/S Hiedi
Pizer (2008 verbal Louisiana Lafayette) who hit .579, 1B Carly Grogan (2008
uncommited) who hit .529, 3B Lauren Bukovi (2008 verballed Portland State) hit
.500 and Pitcher Erin Daugherty (2008 uncommited) who had a 3-0 record with 17
K's in 13 1/3 innings of work with a 0.54 ERA.
The Bulldogs scores were:
Bulldogs Gold-Grogan 9 - Montana Slappers 2
Bulldogs 3 - Mn Irish 1
Bulldogs 9 - RBI Monarchs 2
Bulldogs 4 - SD Aztecs 3
Bulldogs 8 - OC Impact 0
Bulldogs 4- Ut Pegasus 0
Bulldogs 2 - SJ Lady Sharks 3
TX Storm Durham had four wins and a tie.
LANCASTER
Riptide Gold 4 NY Rockland Thunder 0
Carly Wade 2010 and Savannah Garcia 2009 combined on 1-hitter
Lauren Cruz hit a monster 3 run HR
Riptide Gold 5 NY Tremors 4
Savannah Garcia 2009 got the win
Kellin Haley 2008 OF hit a 2 run 2B
Lizzy Garland 2008 3B had 2 hits
Savannah Garcia 2009 P/1B had a RBI
Alisha Rosen 2008 (Long Beach State) had a RBI
Riptide Gold 2 West Bay Nuggets 1
Carly Wade 2010 and Alyson Herman 2008 P split the game
Libby Archer 2008 had a RBI
Alisha Rosen 2008 had 2 hits
Riptide Gold 6 TNL 4
Ryan Crowe 2008 P (Georgetown) got the win
Kellin Haley 2008 OF 2 hits and 2 RBI
Jessica Garcia 2010 C had an RBI
Bree Cassidy 2008 OF had 2 hits and a RBI
Riptide Gold 4 Vienna Stars 6
Kellin Haley 2008 OF had 2 hits
Jessica Garcia 2010 C had a RBI
Savannah Garcia 2009 had a RBI
Libby Archer had a RBI
A SURF CITY COMPLAINT
Dear Mr.
Hesse,
You stated in your October 22 update that the Chino Hills fees were refundable
at the snack bar. They were not refundable and each payee received a chip worth
$1 at the snack bar. The teams were not allowed to bring in water or gatorade
for the 8:00am games and we were told that there would be water in the dugouts
for the teams. I had to complain 4 times for water to finally be brought to the
dugouts after our 2nd game which ended around 11 am. I understand parents
having to pay to enter but why did the coaches and player have to pay? Didn't
every team pay an entry fee? Why should the teams that had no say in where they
were playing have to pay especially when they were at fields too far for college
coaches to travel to? These teams should be refunded the $3 entry fee that
each coach and player paid to the Batbusters to participate.
Another problem for many of our players was the change in venue for Sundays
games. We did not find out about the change until Saturday and it was too late
to notify any coaches. Not only was the venue changed but the number of games
our team played was decreased on Sunday. We had 3 college coaches call after
our final game to say they did not know where our team was and wanted to see our
players. We were supposed to play 3 games on Sunday, then it was changed to 2
games and finally we only were scheduled for 1 game on Sunday. So we paid to
play 6 games, had to play at a park and pay an extra entrance fee for players
and coaches (extra expense that not all teams had to pay), had a change of venue
so coaches could not find us and then only ended up playing 4 games instead of
6.
The Batbusters tournament is touted as a premier college recruiting tournament.
I can not say that every team has a chance at even being seen by the way the
Batbusters handle the scheduling and treat teams they do not feel are worthy of
being recruited. I am sure that they made sure that the OC Batbusters and
Hanning Batbusters were scheduled and placed at venues where all the college
coaches would be so that their players would be seen. I also feel that the
tournament entry fee should have covered all locations and that teams that had
the unfortunate scheduling at Chino Hills should not have had to pay any extra
and should be refunded. Arizona parent
(SPY note: in fairness to Gary Haning, I informed this reader that the Batbuster Black team played its Sunday games at Buckingham Park, and that the Batbusters Maroon played all Saturday at Chino Hills – paying the same fee as others – and played their Sunday games at Ebbets Field and at a high school. The reports SPY received were that few college coaches went to either of these complexes. Moreover, the original plan was to have games at Harvard and Barber parks, which became unavailable. The usual scheduling problems were compounded by the NFCA/NCAA decision to limit college recruiting to a four-week window. If the Batbusters had not found alternate fields, many teams would not have been in the tournament. The Batbusters paid the same $3 fee to the Chino Hills park authority as everybody else – more, the Batbusters had to pay $3500 for Chino Hills and $2600 to Mira Loma – and Mira Loma cancelled the games! Also, some games had to be rescheduled because the 16 teams assigned to Mark Twain had to be moved; the Batbusters learned on Thursday they no longer had these fields. The problems of scheduling were further compounded when a few teams decided on Sunday to leave. The last fuse was lit by the umpires; the Batbusters had been promised two umpires for every game – and often had only one – a situation which Gary Haning informed the UIC was “completely unacceptable.” Finally, while the Black team played strong competition , the Batbuster Maroon team did not play the best teams.)
AND A POSITIVE COMMENT FROM A SPORTS FIGURE
I worked both days at Tewinkle this last weekend and wanted to respond to some of the comments that were related to you. Yes, the fields were only dragged and chalked once in the morning by the City of Costa Mesa, but these are very well maintained fields. They are locked every night and when not in use so there is no abuse. There may have been no lines, but bad hops was not an issue that I could see. The City would not allow Gary to set up a snack bar, nor would they open one themselves, so I did have quite a few people complain about that.
The only games that had 1 umpire was the last game of the night on two of the three fields. There may have been some close calls, but I guess I'm old school here and it really wasn't about winning every game but more about playing the players that needed exposure.
At certain times I saw anywhere from 15 to 20 coaches at the games.( Cal, DePaul, Oregon State, Middle Tennessee, Ohio Univ, Vanguard, Townsend, South Carolina to name a few) I also saw some coaches that did not have any logo on their jacket or shirt and the teams may have not known they were coaches. (after 2 daughters playing and working what seems like a million of these tournaments I'm able to recognize those coaches that may want to be incognito). To those parents that complained to me that there weren't very many coaches at this park, I asked them who they contacted and did they notify them of their game times and location. If the coach was interested, they would come watch because that's way they are here. Not every team can be of the "chosen 4 at HB" but if the players do a little work, the colleges will come to see them play.
NPF TRADES
ROCKFORD,
Ill. - The Rockford Thunder announced today that they have traded
veteran Amanda Freed to the Chicago Bandits in exchange for Megan Willis,
Krista Jessup and Gina Oaks.
Freed, who turns 28 in December, has been with the Thunder since the teams
days in Houston and recently completed her third season with the team.
The utility and former Olympic Gold Medal winning pitcher had her best
season with the Thunder in 2005 when she hit .279 in 28 total games. She
had an off-season in 2007 hitting just .165 with 28 strikeouts. In limited
work in the pitching circle, Freed record a 3-1 record with a 3.08 earned
run average.
"This was a very difficult move to make, but one we had to make at this
time," said General Manager Aaron M. Moore. "Amanda has been with the
Thunder for some time now and her knowledge and experience is something hard
to replace. She is very popular player amongst the coaching staff,
management and players and is one of the best people in the game. We wish
her nothing but the best."
In return, the Bandits sent three players to the Thunder. Willis, who was
the No. 10 overall draft pick last year by Chicago, hit .169 as a rookie,
but was a weapon behind the plate in throwing out would-be base runners.
Jessup, who also is known throughout the league for being a solid backstop,
had just 35 at-bats on the season and picked up two hits.
The big gain for the Thunder in the trade is the veteran Oaks. Oaks has
been in the league since 2004 playing with both Chicago and old New York/New
Jersey Juggernaut. In 2007, Oaks hit .203 for the Bandits and was 4-5 in
the pitcher's circle.
"Because we traded such a valuable person in Freed, we felt we had to get
value in return," stated Moore. "The three players we're getting had down
years in 2007, but we're expecting big years for them here in Rockford.
There's a chance we'll lose Mac (Vandergeest) for 2008 as she pursues her
eventual career as a firefighter, so we felt the need to get stronger behind
the plate and we feel like we've done that. And adding a player with the
reputation, experience and ability of a Gina Oaks is huge for us."
(SPY was hoping long-time friend Amanda Freed, whom we have watched since her championship days with Gordon’s Panthers, would come to Washington Glory. She is now the assistant coach at University of Virginia. Amanda made the rounds at Surf City and Lancaster)
NEW FOR 2008
The California Blasters have scheduled a college showcase for Gold teams only on January 19-20 in San Jacinto. The Blasters will also host a Christmas holiday tournament, December 1-2. Call 949-885-6787
POTOMAC HYPOCRISY
The Senate has attached an amendment to a pending appropriations bill which seeks to prevent certain Federal employees from obtaining first class and/or premium seats on airlines except as specifically permitted under federal guidelines. A number of Federal senior officials have been very clever at obtaining authorizations to waive those guidelines by declaring their travel to be essential, etc. Notably, the amendment affects Justice (FBI, DEA) and Commerce but not State – where officials travel so frequently that you earn FF upgrades to business and first. (At one time, I had a million FF miles and always flew business or first class, and by damn I miss it.) The hypocrisy is that the Washington Post recently published articles about the excess travel of members of Congress at taxpayer expense, eg, their junkets during the recent Congressional recess. Amazing how many members and their wives needed to be in Paris, London, Rome, etc.
LUXURY ALOFT
The gigantic Airbus 380 flies from Singapore to Sydney on Thursday. A round-trip business class ticket is $7,000 – and much, much more for the 12 “private cabins” which convert to a double-bed, w/23” LCD TVs, and the latest electronic gizmos. Business-class seats lay down into beds. The expectation is that 380s will be flying into 20 airports – by 2025. Today, perhaps six airports in the world can handle 1.25 million pound plane which is 79 feet tall and 262 feet wide. Only three US cities are among the 20 – New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and these three could see 380 service in late 2008 or early 2009. However, no US carriers have bought the plane. The luxuries are not as new as the promo’s suggest. American used to have a cocktail lounge in the front of its 747s to the West Coast. Pan Am, which originated the cabin concept on its Boeing Clippers, offered a lounge on its 747s, and Lufthansa’s upper deck had those lay-down seats. Way back when, TWA had a cocktail lounge in the rear of its Connies. Today, Dubai Air, even Aeroflot, are touting luxuries in first class on widebody aircraft. I can remember when every Aeroflot flight into Moscow’s Sheremtyevo had a KGB agent on-board; I told a Frenchman in front of me to stop taking videos out the window as we neared Moscow; he refused and was arrested on landing; they confiscated his camera and all the film he had taken in several countries. You want current luxury: fly Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Air, Lufthansa. US airlines don’t even offer peanuts on some flights but first and business still get a meal – of sorts. For food, Air France from New York to Paris is an epicurean delight. Prettiest stews: fly Gulf Air to the Middle East – all tall blondes from Finland, Norway, Sweden.
Add tryouts
The Lady Blues
18U is having a tryout on November 18, 2007 at 2pm on the campus of Wingate
University. We are seeking quality 2009-2011 young ladies that want to play at
the next level and compete at the best showcase events. Need a "stopper
pitcher" with a proven track record.
The Blues started college showcase events in late fall 2002 and have had 45 kids
committ to play college softball, an average of nine a year!
If you want to play for an organization that will support you, come tryout with
the Lady Blues Fastpitch Organization! Contact Rodney Threatt @ 704-841-7946 or
e-mail:
rethreatt@hotmail.com, please contact us as soon as possible so we can set
up our schedule based on numbers.
TWO GUYS AND A GAL
Ernie Parker, Cat Osterman and Rayburn Hesse
That golf cart attracted riders all weekend – a good looking scorekeeper and a good looking female
umpire, both blondes of course – and these two long-time friends.
One of us is an Olympian; the other is just of Olympian proportions.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRAD SPEIERMAN