SPORTS
 
 
Youth Triathlon
  The 2005 Southwest Youth Triathlon will be held Sunday, September 25 at 2:00pm at the Southwest Allen County Schools Natatorium and grounds. This beginning level triathlon is for ages 7 and older and race distances are determined by the age of the participant. Each participant will receive a race t-shirt, Livestrong wristband, triathlon medal, race goodie bag, and food and drinks after the race! It promises to be challenging and rewarding! Proceeds from the race benefit Ft. Wayne's Community Harvest Food Bank and the Kids Cafe. The cost is $12 for individuals and $8 for each additional family member. Checks should be made payable to Three Rivers Velo Sport (3RVS). Call 431-2585 for additional race information. Come on out and give it a "tri!"

Girls Fast Pitch Softball Tryouts

  
The Aboite Crush (2005 WSQ) 12U Girls fast pitch travel team will be conducting open tryouts for the 2005 - 2006 season. We are seeking highly competitive and dedicated girls to compliment our returning roster. Previous travel experience is a plus, however girls looking to continue their growth in fast pitch softball are encouraged to attend. We will aim to participate in 1 or 2 fall tournaments and will hold indoor practices during the winter months in preparation for the spring/summer season. Tryouts will be held at the Aboite Crush practice field on Saturday, August 20 from 10 am - noon and on Sunday, August 21 from 4 pm - 6 pm.
  If you are a player looking to elevate your game to a higher level of competitive play and are committed to the total team concept, join us at our open tryouts. Questions, comments or if you are unable to attend either of the open tryouts and wish to schedule a private workout, please contact Brian Kurek at (260) 459-2714 or via email at bakurek@aol.com.
  The Tryout/Practice Field location is 4110 Clubview Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46804. (Behind Kapp's Lawn Care on Engle Road)



Fort Wayne Among Top Minor League Sports Cities

  According to the July 25 issue of "Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal" Fort Wayne is America's seventh-best minor league sports city. The journal tracked 546 teams in 47 leagues in 230 markets. Scores were based on the attendance numbers of the past five years, facility capacity, franchise tenure, per capita income, and unemployment. Points were also given to those markets that had recently built or renovated a facility.
  In the 5 scoring categories Fort Wayne ranked 24th in attendance as a percentage of population, 5th in franchise tenure, 19th in attendance per capita income, 18th in unemployment and 39th in capacity.
  Also in this issue was a market watch of areas that are moving up, those to watch and those on the slide. Fort Wayne was listed along with only 4 other markets that are "moving up". Key reasons for this were strong fan base: although unemployment has increased since 2000 attendance has still jumped by one-third; the addition of the Freedom and their large attendance numbers; and the renovated Arena. Markets "to watch" and on "the slide" were Dayton, OH and Greenville, S.C. Although Dayton is #8 this year attendance is down 3% and in Greenville, #1 five years ago, three teams have left and their "attendance is half of the 550,000 it was five years ago."
"The success of the Wizards - 2003 and 2004 Midwest League Team of the Year, the Freedom - league leading attendance and the Komets - 54 years and multiple championships all contribute to Fort Wayne's high ranking but it's the people that support our teams that truly deserve the praise." according to Randy L. Brown, Coliseum General Manager.

Top 10 Minor League Sports Markets:
1. Rochester, NY
2. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA
3. Hershey-Harrisburg, PA
4. Providence-Pawtucket, RI
5. San Bernardino County, CA
6. Oklahoma City, OK
7. Fort Wayne, IN
8. Dayton, OH
9. Toledo, OH
10. Fresno, Ca



Volunteers Help TRYSA Succeed

(Friday, February 18, 2005) - Volunteers are the life-blood of the Three Rivers Youth Soccer Association. President, Joe Beier tells the Aboite Independent, “We are always looking for volunteers. Our coaching staff is entirely volunteers, there are seasons where we usually end up getting enough, but there are seasons where even at the coach’s meeting we haven’t found coaches for all the teams. A lot of that comes from people not being familiar with the sport, or not being able to commit to the time involved.”

Click here for audio of Joe Beier. (:23, 65 KB)
According to Beier, “We always welcome individuals if they don’t want to coach but still want to be part of the organization, we invite them to come and help out with the board and the other operations of the club. So if people decide they don’t want to coach but still want to be involved with the organization, we do have a board of directors that meets once a month to kind of talk about the goings-on of the league, and soccer in the area, and how they can help promote the club.”

Beier says, “The biggest thing that we stress is that we’re there for the kids to have fun, and our organization is about the kids. We’ve tried to pattern ourselves to be the Wildcat of youth soccer in Fort Wayne, where we’re there for everybody to have fun, and for everybody to play, and our main focus is just for the kids to have fun.”

Registration continues this weekend and next at 218 E. Collins Road. For more information phone (260) 482-9615, or visit www.trysa.org.

“Our board is all volunteers, our coaches all volunteers, and that makes for a pretty interesting mix.” - Joe Beier

Soccer: Sports With A Kick
(Friday, February 11, 2005) - Last weekend, Greg Mauch, Director of Soccer and Canterbury High School Soccer Coach was inducted into the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame. The Aboite Independent asked Mauch why soccer has become such a popular sport. He says, “We’ll there’s a lot of good reasons. Number one it’s just a great game to play. It’s a lot of fun to participate.”

Click here for audio of Greg Mauch. (:23, 65 KB)
According to Mauch, “Soccer has grown in incredible amounts over the last 15 to 20 years, and at some point it will taper-off because we’ll run out of additional kids to draw in. However, right now it continues to show tremendous growth, and I suspect it will continue to do so for the next 5 or 10 years.”

Canterbury Coach Hall Of Fame Inductee
(Friday, February 4, 2005) - This weekend, Greg Mauch, Director of Soccer and Canterbury High School Soccer Coach is being inducted into the Indiana Soccer Hall of Fame. The ceremony takes place Saturday night at the Indianapolis Crown Plaza. Mauch tells the Aboite Independent, “I don’t know who nominated me, and that’s kind of a secret process I guess, but the list of members of the Hall Of Fame is a pretty nice list. If they want to put my name on it, I’m more than happy to let them.” Mauch has been active in Soccer for more than three decades.

Click here for audio of Greg Mauch. (:47, 127 KB)
Asked if he’s ever aspired to coach at the college level, Mauch responds, “No, every once in a while that flitters through my mind, but realistically that’s not a lifestyle that I would be comfortable with. The recruiting, being on the road 250-300 days a year, I enjoy my family way to much to be able to do that. It’s just not my style.” Mauch now has even more family to enjoy. Last weekend he became a grandfather for the first time.
Next Week, the Aboite Independent talks with Coach Mauch about the growth and popularity of soccer.

Sign Up Time For Kicks and Giggles
(Wednesday, February 2, 2005) - Canterbury School’s Kicks and Giggles soccer league for kiddies is about to get underway. Director of Soccer Greg Mauch tells the Aboite Independent, “It’s a program we run on Sunday afternoons from mid-February through the last weekend before spring break. We’ve done it for about 8 or 9 years now, and it’s designed to be an introduction to the game, a gateway to soccer type thing. We encourage kids to come in; we make it a fun time. They do some ball work and then play small games. There are no set teams, we don’t keep score necessarily, we just play some games and turn it around and play some more games, and at the end and kids seem to have a good time with it.” Mauch says, “ It’s been a very successful program for us. For many years we did it just for Canterbury kids, and then we thought we ought to open it up to everybody.” Kicks and Giggles begins Sunday, February 13th, and runs through March 20th.

Click here for audio of Greg Mauch. (3:14, 495 KB)
Registration is through Canterbury School, and participants can sign-up at the door on the 13th. According to Mauch, “The cost is $30 for all six weeks, so it comes out to a little less than paying a babysitter. The funds go into the Canterbury soccer account, and we use it to buy equipment for the playground and stuff like that, so the money’s not a big issue.”

The sessions are held in the Canterbury Middle School gym, just off South Bend Drive.
For more information call (260) 436-7721.

“We’re just looking forward to getting started.” - Greg Mauch

Lady Cougars Gain Recognition
(Friday, December 17, 2004) - The University of Saint Francis women’s basketball St. Francis Mascotteam has been ranked 12th among the NAIA’s Division II Top 25 in the latest ratings.
The Lady Cougars improved to 10-2 last Saturday with 87-65 win over Marian. USF was ranked No. 15 in the first regular season NAIA Top 25 released on Dec. 7. Prior to that, Coach Gary Andrews’ team received 23 votes in the preseason rating.

USF is one of four Mid-Central Conference members in this week’s Top 25 and six of the nine MCC members received votes. Indiana Wesleyan (12-2) is the highest rated MCC member at No. 5. IWU was No. 5 in the preseason rating. USF and IWU are tied for the MCC lead with 4-0 conference records. Taylor (Upland) was No. 20 for the second week in a row and Marian (7-2) moved into the Top 25 at No. 25. Bethel received votes after a No. 22 rating in the first Top 25.

“It just shows how good our conference is having that many teams recognized,” Andrews said. “It also tells you how tough this conference is, how hard it is to win. We want to keep playing defense the way we did against the Knights on Saturday.”

Senior guard Cassie Kline (Huntington / Huntington North) leads the MCC in assists at 8.1 a game, which is No. 2 in NAIA national stats. USF junior Megan Dossen (Fort Wayne / Bishop Luers) is No. 25 in NAIA scoring and No. 2 in the MCC averaging 17.4 points a game. Sophomore center Chivonn Keppeler (Edgerton, OH / Edgerton) is No. 11 in MCC scoring (13.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Nikki Lewis (Fort Wayne / Homestead) is No. 14 averaging 13.2 ppg.

International Basketball Challenge At Canterbury
Canterbury Seal(Monday, December 6, 2004) - An Australian High School basketball team will spend several days in Fort Wayne and play a game this evening at Canterbury High School. Ken Harkenrider, Canterbury Athletic Director tells the Aboite Independent, “It’s an outstanding opportunity for us. We are hosting a touring group from Canberra, Australia that will play our boys Varsity and JV teams. We hosted a similar group a year ago, and really had a lot of fun. “We do some home-stay hosting, and we have the games, and team meals, and try and broaden it out just beyond the sporting event itself.”

Click here for audio of Ken Harkenrider. (1:11, 187 KB)
According to Harkenrider the Canberra Grammar School is very similar to ours. “It’s a Pre-K through 12 sort of an independent setting. I’m really thrilled because I think it will take it to another level where kids are going to be very familiar with the way we’re set up, and we can really investigate similarities and comparisons with what their experiences are like down there. We did a similar thing last year and it worked out really well.”

Tonight’s International Basketball Challenge between the HSE Kangaroos and Canterbury will be played at Canterbury High School at 3210 Smith Road. The Junior varsity game is set for 6pm with the Varsity match up to follow. If you can’t get to the games, log on to www.aboiteindependent.com, and go to our Special Events page. We’ll provide live streaming audio of the play-by-play.

Cub Scout Pack 3900 is sponsoring a community service project in conjunction with the games. In place of the standard $4.00 admission, fans will be asked to make donations to benefit the Associated Churches Food Bank. Financial contributions will be used to purchase holiday turkeys for distribution throughout the Fort Wayne area. Cub Scouts will be on hand to collect all donated items.

Congratulations Cougars!!!
St. Francis Mascot
St. Francis Mascot
(Monday, December 6, 2004) - By virtue of their latest win, the St. Francis Cougars advance to the NAIA Championship Series title game. University of Saint Francis Sports Information Director Bill Scott provides the following article to the Aboite Independent.

“Defense made the difference for the University of Saint Francis in a 12-7 win over Georgetown College (KY) in an NAIA Championship Series semifinal game at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Blessed with near perfect college football weather before a near sellout crowd, No. 2 USF and No. 3 GC slugged it out for the right to play in the NAIA Championship Series title game on Saturday, Dec. 18, in Savannah, Tenn.

‘I expected it to be a lower scoring game because both defenses are outstanding,’ USF coach Kevin Donley said afterwards. ‘And you have a tendency to get a little more conservative in a big game like that. Both defenses played extremely well. Our punting game may have been the difference because we were backed up and Cam got us out of the hole so many times and allowed our defense room.’

The Cougars (13-0) used two second-half interceptions, the punting of Cam Smith, and some big plays at the right time to hand the Tigers their first loss after 12 consecutive wins. USF was the last team to beat GC in the first round of the NCS in 2003. All the scoring took place in the second quarter. The Tigers, who came into the game No. 2 in NAIA scoring offense at 42.2 points per game, took the lead 7-0 when QB Jeff Smith passed to C.R.Rohrbough for an 8-yard TD and Dan Snodgrass added the extra point with 9:51to play. Sophomore halfback DerrickAlderman (Richmond, IN /Richmond) got USF on the board when he caught a short pass from Chris Bramell (Indianapolis/ Franklin Central) for a 15-yard TD to cap a 7-play, 66-yard drive. On 1st and 20 from the Georgetown38, Adam Denning (Payne, OH / Wayne Trace H.S.) hauled in what proved to be the winning TD from Bramell with five seconds to play in the first half. Denning's TD reception capped a 12-play, 99-yarddrive that took 3:19and finished the scoring for the game.

‘I look back at that and I'm just thinking about getting in position to kick a field goal,’ Donley recalled with a relieved laugh. ‘Sometimes it's a guessing game. We put that play in specifically for their coverage and we were fortunate enough to complete it. Thank goodness we put the play in.’

Georgetown started 3 drives in the 2nd half just outside of USF territory- Georgetown 49, Georgetown 41, Georgetown 47 - but USF defense denied Tigers. The most serious threat came when the Tigers drove from their own 41 to the USF 3-yard line. Ryan Payne tried to run for 1st down on fourth and 1 at USF 3, but was tackled by Marty Starks (Fort Wayne, IN / Northrop H.S.) and Clarence Ellington a yard short of of the first down with 16 seconds left in the third quarter. USF forced Georgetown to punt twice on ensuing possessions and Paul Carter (Indianapolis/ Northwest) and Ellington (Boynton Beach, FL /Delray Beach Atlantic) picked off Smith passes to close out the Tigers' final two possessions.

“USF will play two-time defending champ Carroll (11-2) in Savannah, Tenn., Dec. 18 at 1:05 p.m Eastern time. Carroll rallied to eliminate Azuza Pacific 14-10 in Helena, MT in the other semifinal game.

USF set a school record for consecutive wins in season 13. Junior running back Cory Jacquay became the second in Cougar history to rush for more than 1,000 yard in a season- 1,005. He also moved over 2,000 yards rushing for his career - 2,029.

USF coach Kevin Donley got his180th career win, his 65th win in 7 seasons at USF. He is 180-103-1 in 26 seasons as a head coach.

NAIA Offense Player-of-the-Game -Chris Bramell (Indianapolis/ Franklin Central H.S.)
NAIA Defense Player-of-the-Game -Chris Van Horn (Fort Wayne/ Snider H.S.) had 5 tackles, 3 solo, 3of USF 5 sacks for 17 yards in losses.”

-- GO USF --
BILLSCOTT - UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR

St. Francis Hosts Championship Semifinal Game
(Friday, December 3, 2004) - The University of Saint Francis will host the NAIA Championship Series semifinal game between Georgetown College and the Saint Francis Cougars Saturday, December 4th. USF has provided the following information to the Aboite Independent.

“For the first time in the 7-year history of the football program, the University of Saint Francis will play host to an NAIA Championship Series semifinal game. The final two unbeaten teams in the NCS -- No. 3 Georgetown College (KY) and No. 2 University of Saint Francis - will square off at Bishop John M. D’Arcy Stadium on the USF campus in one of two National Championship Series semifinal games on Saturday, Dec. 4.

No. 10 Azuza Pacific (11-2) will travel to No. 9 Carroll (10-2) to play the two-time defending champs at noon Fort Wayne time. Azusa Pacific stunned No. 1 and previously unbeaten Sioux Falls (S.D.) 24-3. Carroll advanced to the semifinals with a 56-17 win at No. 5 Dickinson State (N.D.).

The winners on Saturday (Dec. 4) will play for the 2004 NAIA Championship in Savannah, Tenn., on Saturday, Dec. 18.

‘We’re excited to bringing a game of this magnitude to Fort Wayne, no matter who it is we are playing,’ USF coach Kevin Donley said. ‘We do know a little more about this opponent than we did our first two opponents.’

USF eliminated the Tigers 34-23 in the first round of the 2003 NAIA Championship Series. It was the fourth time Donley sent his Cougars against the school where he coached from 1982 to 1992. Georgetown won the first three meetings in Georgetown, Ky.

Before Saturday’s quarterfinal games, USF and GC were both in the NAIA top 5 in scoring offense (USF #1, 44.0, GC #2, 41.8) and total offense (USF #1, 511.4, GC #4, 446.1). USF was No. 2 in rushing offense (324.6 ypg) and GC was No. 4 in passing offense (268.4 ypg). The Tigers will be throwing against the No. 3 pass defense, USF surrendering 124.9 ypg prior to giving up a season-high 308 to Hastings College (IA).

‘We made some good adjustments to their passing attack after they lost one of the top running backs in the country,’ USF defensive coordinator Warren Maloney said. ‘We got the job done when we had to.’ Both teams were in the Top 10 in scoring defense, USF No. 4 at 9.8 ppg and GC No. 8 at 12.6 ppg. In total defense, USF was No. 5 yielding 245.5 ypg, GC No. 8 at 247.5 ypg. The Tigers advanced to the semifinals with a hot start against Mid-American Nazarene (KS) scoring three touchdowns in a 2:42 first-quarter span to take a 19-0 lead over the No. 11 Pioneers (10-3). The Tigers capitalized on a fumbled lateral and a pass interception. GC QB Jeff Smith passed for 402 yards and five TDs. Ryan Payne bounced back from a pulled hamstring the week before with 155 yards rushing, a TD run and a TD reception. GC finished with 608 yards total offense.”

2004 Cougars’ Schedule
9-11 Ohio Dominican W 55-3
9-18 @ #10 McKendree W 33-10
9-25 Iowa Wesleyan W 62-8
10-2 @ Geneva W 30-24
10-9 Butler W 35-7
10-16 Urbana W 37-20
10-23 @ Taylor W 46-0
10-30 Malone W 40- 6
11- 6 @ Quincy W 49-13
11-13 #15 Walsh W 42-14
11-20 # 12 Morningside W 53-3
11-27 #16 Hastings W 48-17
12- 4 #3 Georgetown

2004 Tigers Schedule
9- 2 Bethel (TN) W 56-0
9-11 @ Kentucky Wesleyan W 47-0
9-18 Cumberland (KY) W 65-16
9-25 @ Union (KY) W 34-13
10- 2 Lambuth (KY) W 48-17
10- 9 @ Bellhaven (KY) W 23-6
10-16 UVA-Wise W 56-14
10-23 BYE
10-30 @ Pikeville W 28-14
11- 6 Campbellsville (KY) W 41-17
11-13 @ Cumberland (TN) W 27-21
11-20 Trinity International (IL) W 35-21
11-27 Mid-American Nazarene W 46-27
12- 4 @ U. of St. Francis

Southwest Sprint Triathlon
(Thursday, October 7, 2004) - This Sunday afternoon marks the 3rd Southwest Youth Triathlon. Ted Tiernon with 23 years under his belt teaching in the Southwest Allen County Schools, and presently the phys-ed instructor at Woodside Middle School tells the Aboite Independent, “We’re going to have it at 2 o’clock this Sunday, October 10th. We expect somewhere between 70 and 100 young people there, and probably some adults too. We’ll do a short swim, and a bike ride, a single or perhaps a few laps around Indian Trails Park next to Summit Middle School, and then finish up with a short run on the track. The competition involves boys and girls starting from age seven all the way up well into the teens, and I’m certain we’ll have a few adults too.” The event is sponsored by TriFort TriAthletes to promote physical fitness and activity.

Click here for audio of Ted Tiernon. (:24, 69 KB)
According to Tiernon, a number of wonderful sponsors have donated boatloads of neat gifts and prizes for the kids. Registration must be done in advance, that means today or tomorrow. Registration forms are available online at www.ft-wayne.in.us, or at the Summit Middle School Natatorium. They should be returned to the Natatorium no later than Friday.


Homestead Football Webcast

(Friday, September 24, 2004) - The Homestead Spartan football team travels to Dekalb for a 7pm kick-off tonight. The Aboite Independent offers live streaming audio of the game by clicking on the Special Events icon, or click here. Joe Pasquali provides the play-by-play with a pre-game show at about 6:40. Be sure to log in tonight to www.aboiteindependent.com, your web home for Spartan sports.


AI To Webcast Homestead Athletic Events
Joe Pasquali
Joe Pasquali
(Friday, September 3, 2004) - The Aboite Independent begins a new service to our reader/listeners this evening, as we begin webcasting Homestead High School athletic events. Tonight, Joe Pasquali brings us the play-by-play of the Homestead-East Noble Varsity football game. Joining Joe as color commentator is Chris Copley. Both are award winning sport broadcasters.

Pasquali says, “I’ve been broadcasting for Homestead four years, three years doing Varsity. Hopefully if I do enough games I’ll probably break a hundred games this year for my time here at Homestead. Chris Copley and myself won the State Football Broadcasting Award last year at the IASB (the Indiana Association of School Broadcasters) competition. All the High Schools in the State that have radio stations, and some of the Colleges participate. It’s down at the University of Indianapolis every year. We sent them a little 5-minute uninterrupted clip of football play-by-play. It was actually from the Snider-Homestead game last year, a game Homestead lost, but we had some great moments, and we were able to send it in and we got first place. So hopefully we’ll repeat this year.”

According to Pasquali, “Copley knows his stuff, having played quarterback for a few years, he can really give you an inside point of view when it comes to our passing attack. He really knows about football, and he’ll chime in with some great stats and commentary to help the game flow along.” Asked what to expect from tonight’s webcast, Pasquali says, “We should start around 6:40 with a little bit of a pre-game show. We definitely have an interview each week with Coach Zolman for Homestead, during our pre-game show. We’ll also talk about last week’s game for both teams. Then we’ll talk about what happened last year when Homestead and East Noble faced each other, and hopefully what you expect to see from both teams tonight. It should be a great game.”
Click here for audio of Joe Pasquali. (:40, 109 KB)

The webcast will include a halftime show and a post-game wrap-up with an interview with the coach or the player of the game.

Hopefully we’ll have a great broadcast tonight. We’re going to try our hardest, and hopefully everybody out there listens, and hopefully they enjoy what they hear.” - Joe Pasquali

To listen to tonight’s Homestead-East Noble webcast, courtesy of WCYT, click on the “Special Events” block on the left of your screen (or click here), and follow the prompts.


Homestead Football Coach Leaving
Homestead High School(Monday, April 19, 2004) - It appears Homestead High School is looking for a new Football Coach. Drew Wood has accepted an offer to become the coach at Bloomington South High School. The offer still needs Monroe County Community School board approval. Wood said he wasn't looking for a job, but it was too good to pass up. While leading the Spartans, Homestead finished 48-10, while finishing 32-3 in the Northeast Hoosier Conference. Homestead also won four conference titles in his five-year tenure.

After Seven Road Games Wizards Open At Home
(Saturday, April 17, 2004) - Friday night the Fort Wayne Wizards opened the home portion of their season against the Beloit Snappers.

The Wizards are led by manager Randy Ready, a veteran of 13 professional seasons in the major leagues including time spent with the San Diego Padres. Tom Tornincasa is back for his fifth season as hitting coach and is joined by first-year pitching coach Steve Webber.

On the field, fans will be excited to see familiar names from 2003, and some top-rated prospects. Daniel Moore, a left-handed second round pick by the Padres in the 2003 draft, leads the Wizards' notoriously strong pitching staff. Right-handers Chuck Bechtel and closer Aaron Coonrod, who both played in Fort Wayne for the 2003 season, join him. Colt Morton, a third round selection by the Padres last year, returns to start behind the plate. Morton finished 2003 in Fort Wayne, hitting .171 with two home runs and seven runs batted in. According to hitting coach Tornincasa, Morton "could hit for power this season."

Fernando Valenzuela Jr.Other names on the Wizard's uniforms that may seem familiar: Valenzuela Jr. and Bochy. Fernando Valenzuela Jr., son of the pitching great for the Los Angeles Dodgers, will start for Fort Wayne at first base. And he's not the only son of a baseball man. Greg Bochy, a 24-year old pitcher-turned-infielder is the son of the San Diego Padre's manager Bruce Bochy. (Bochy begins the year on the disabled list.)

Highlighting the entertainment this season are 12 fan-favorite post-game fireworks shows, appearances by Myron Noodleman, the Zooperstars, BirdZerk and Jake, the Diamond Dog. "Big Daddy Weave," a Christian band, will play a post-game show on Sunday, August 8th. The Wizards will host the fifth annual Boy Scout Overnight on Saturday, June 5 and the Girl Scout Overnight on Saturday, June 19.

Tickets to see the Wizards play at Memorial Stadium include all post-game activities and cost between $6.50 and $9.00.

Former Spartan Backstop Homers For Twins
Rob Bowen(Satu
rday, April 10, 2004) - Rob Bowen, 1999 graduate from Homestead High School got his baseball season off to a great start Thursday, walloping a pinch-hit home run for the Minnesota Twins. While the two-run shot wasn't enough to win the game, it was a great season first 'at-bat' for the former Spartan catcher. The Twins fell to Detroit 10-6. Bowen, who spent a month with the Twins last year, was supposed to start this season with the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats, but hopped on a flight from Connecticut and met up with the Twins in Detroit before noon.

The Twins lost two catchers to injuries in this week, and Bowen was called up early Thursday morning to be the backup for Henry Blanco. The home run is the first of Bowen's major league career, and just his second hit in 11 major league at-bats. The Aboite Independent will track Rob's progress, and you can also access the Rock Cat's website at www.rockcats.com for more information on Rob.

 

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