Repsher, Adrienne. 1^st, Team New Jersey, to Temple University

D’Arpa, Christina. 2^nd,3^rd, Team New Jersey, to Univ of Pittsburgh

Callahan, Mary Jane. P, TX Fear This, to Univ of Mississippi

Richter, Cathy. C,IF, NJ Inferno/Jersey Devils, to St. Joseph’s, PA

Carbonatto, Gina. 2^nd,OF, WA Lake Breeze, to Univ of Pacific

Putich, Brittany. OC Batbusters, to UC Santa Barbara

Stanke, Nicole. 2^nd, Beach Girls, to UMBC

Klein, Lindsay. 1st,3rd,P, USA Athletics/Batbusters, to Univ of Maryland

Gevas, Jeana. 3^rd,2^nd,OF, Sacramento Rush, to Cal Poly

Oakes, Melissa. P, Sacramento Rush, to Univ of Utah

Murray, Christy. Lady Sharks Gold, to Univ North Carolina-Charlotte

Creps, Jaisa. C, OC Batbusters, to UCLA (I think this is a repeat for SPY)

Swartout, Lacey. Dot's Diamonds, to UT Chattanooga

Gwen, Christina. Spring Klein Hawks, to Univ of Texas

Sutton, Alex. 2nd,SS,OF, CA Strike Zone, to UC Berkeley

Hamby, Ashley. P, St. Louis Sluggers, to Southern Illinois Univ

Clifton, Amanda. C, St. Louis Sluggers, to Southern Illinois Univ

That slick-fielding 3^rd baseman on the Beach Girls is Jessica Mouse, younger sister of outfielder Lyndsay Mouse. Lyndsay is young, Class of 2005, but Jessica, who caught the attention of several college coaches, is Class of 2007. Yes, folks,when you get to that fifth finger, that’s eighth grade. To paraphrase Dean Martin, I’ve got Scotch that’s older than the Mouse girls combined ages – but they certainly play older and just as smooth.

Also from the East, Team New Jersey swept its 5-game bracket, defeating AZ Heatwave 9-0; WA Extreme Heat 10-3, WA Outlaws Gold 3-2; Impact Nevada 9-0; and Strike Zone Gold (which was a contender at Broken Arrow) 11-1. TNJ also has a young star: Maddy Coon, an 05 infielder and pitcher, who was recorded as hitting .818 at Lancaster (9-11). Katie Marvel, an 04 outfielder, was recorded at .727, while junior IF Leslie Barrows was recorded at .643. TNJ is 16-2-1 in fall ball. They’ve scored 124 runs, but have given up 19, a run per game. Defensively, they are led by Linda Secka, the all-star outfielder who has been named to the USA Junior Women’s team which will play in Mexico in December.

We now have scores for Blair Ota’s Irvine Sting which defeated Storm 6-2 and Breeze 5-0, while tying Blast 2-2 and Valley Ice 0-0. Sting’s fifth game with Thunder was not played; the tournament could not find a replacement team for Sting to play.

London is an incredibly civilized city, relatively speaking, and nowhere is that civility and sophistication more evident than at the London theatre – not just in the stylish comedies and musicals on stage, but, in the manner which British theatre-goers express their appreciation for the arts. In 1970, Carol Kurtis of CBS-Paris and I took in the latest Tom Stoppard play. During intermission, we repaired to the drinks lounge, and drew the table next to Richard Harris who immediately noted our American accents and briefly expressed a hope that we were enjoying a rather good play. He of course needed no introduction, already famed for his roles in the Guns of Navarone, Mutiny on the Bounty, This Sporting Life, and other films, the Irish actor was winning even more acclaim for A Man Called Horse. Harris returned to the coal mines with Sean Connery, one of at least two films they made together, in the Molly McGuires. But, in our book, it was as King Arthur in Camelot that he made his most enduring impression. The world would see him down through the years in other roles, but, by Harry, he WAS Arthur! Richard Harris died today at 72 in London; every theatre around the globe should go dark for a moment

A great many people in the softball community know Gary Wardein and his family: Kathy, Erin, Kelly and Ryan. Daughter Erin, a star at Arizona State, needs your prayers. Her boy friend, Curtis Robinson, lies near-death in a hospital.

I would like to attend the ASA annual meeting in Reno, but the JO Committee meets on Sunday, Nov 10. I had hoped to tie it in with the Firecracker on Nov 16-17, then layover for the Batbuster Nov 22-24. Does anybody know of any tournament activity in CA, AZ or NV the weekend of Nov 8-9? What are the options?

I frequently get a chuckle reading a comic strip, Jeff MacNelly’s Shoe, written/drawn by Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins. Today, the young hawk, Schuyler, is asked in school to name the four basic food groups. His answer: canned, frozen, carry-out and delivered. Would surprise some folks in the hills of Appalachia: moon pies are usually named.

After weeks of false leads, incredibly wrong-headed pronouncements by so-called forensic psychologists and profilers, telephone tips and an alert truck driver, who got the needed information from a leaked news story about the alleged sniper’s car, the nation’s capital breathed easier because the reign of terror had ended. To be sure, today brought out the politicians, all crowding around the microphones to discuss jurisdictional issues relating to prosecution of these alleged offenders.

I would be the training wheels off my daughter’s 20 year old tricycle that the next voices to be heard (maybe even before Jesse Jackson finds a role here) will be lawyers, seeking class action damages because the alleged shooter was stopped three times by area police, before the final killings, and let go because his car was clean, and he had only committed traffic violations. Of course, police were looking for young white men in white vans. Yes, I have a thing about lawyers, even though my father was a judge and my daughter is with a prominent law firm. Indeed, during one of many impasse situations in the State Department, where proposed actions were being blocked by government attorneys, the Under Secretary turned to me, and asked if I had a solution. Yes, fire all these damned lawyers. They never forgave me, and found a thousand little ways to get back at me.

While waiting for the 0930pm update on CNN, the world was treated to a doctor warning of the dangers of multiple ear piercings. Nothing above the lobe, said she. All kinds of advice about red and white blood cells, cartilege damage, ear reconstruction, etc. I doubt that anyone under 30 would pay attention. Some of these girls sport more metal than the bumper on my 55 Chevy.

End

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