News sports 2008-08-01 Andanh.com

Making a commitment Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:45:37 -0500
Being a Bowling Green East Little League All-Star comes at a price, but the memories have been priceless. The East 11- and 12-year-old team headed to Indianapolis on Wednesday in preparation for Friday’s opening game against Illinois in the Great Lakes Regional Tournament. Hitting the road has become awfully common for East All-Stars and their parents. They’re familiar with the Natcher Parkway, because they played five straight days in Owensboro for the area tournament. The state tournament took East to Louisville, where they stayed for five games before earning a bid to the Great Lakes Regional. “It’s not bad,” East All-Star Quentin Cooke said. “We get to go back to hotels or wherever and swim, go to sleep and wake back up.” However, it can be tough on the parents’ wallets. Quentin Cooke’s father, Joey, estimated the family spent $1,000 in Louisville for five days on hotel, food, gas and entertainment. But considering his son Quentin and the East All-Stars are one tournament championship from playing in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., the price is worth it. “It is expensive, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Joey Cooke said. “It’s the only shot you’re going to have.” The Cooke family isn’t alone. Others have to find a way to manage finances during the postseason run - but stress it’s a rare opportunity. “It’s indescribable and it’s just amazing,” said Kerrie McDaniel, mother of All-Star Christopher. “There’s a lot of expenses and all the little incidentals add up, but it’s worth it.” Teresa Hayes, mother of Devin, said, “You’ll do what you have to do. It’s definitely a big commitment, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, so you cough up the money and you cough up the time.” One key is planning ahead. Because most members of the squad were 11-year-old state champions last year, aspiring for another state championship wasn’t out of the question. But unlike the 11-year-old age group, where postseason ends with the state tournament, the 11-12 tournament includes a regional tournament and World Series. “You think about and you plan (ahead),” Kerrie McDaniel said. “You kind of put things back. We haven’t done a big vacation this summer. (Owensboro, Louisville, Indianapolis and hopefully Williamsport) may be it.” Having a flexible work schedule or understanding bosses also helps too. Assistant coach Greg Sibalich had 20 days of vacation available from his engineering job. “I saved a lot in anticipation for this,” Sibalich said. McDaniel is a biology teacher at Western Kentucky University. Classes start Aug. 25, the day after the final game of the Little League World Series, so she should be in the clear. She’s spent off time completing syllabi. “My schedule is great and I’ve got a lot of support administratively,” she said. Teresa Hayes also had 22 vacation days from work as a human resources professional at a printing company. “I’ve got six left and I have other people willing to donate,” Teresa Hayes said. “I haven’t missed an inning.” Her husband, Junior, has some work conflicts. He’s a physical education teacher at three Bowling Green schools. School begins Tuesday, when Devin and the All-Stars are playing in Indianapolis. Junior Hayes is also an assistant football coach at Bowling Green High School and practice has begun. “Coach (Kevin) Wallace is totally supportive,” Junior said. “He says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing and he understands. If it was his kid, he’d be there too. But teachers want to be there for the first day.” Junior Hayes doesn’t want to miss school, but the All-Stars aren’t complaining. It also provides them a bit of extra juice. “All the boys are missing school and that’s their motivation,” Teresa Hayes joked. “Devin is already doing his algebra homework. But all the schools have been very good.”

Par Makers attracts national player field Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:45:39 -0500
One of Bowling Green’s longest-running golf tournaments returns for another go-round this weekend. The 45th annual Par Makers Tournament tees off Saturday, with a competitive field from across the country expected to converge on CrossWinds Golf Course. Tournament director Jimmy Whitney said this year’s field will feature 140 golfers from 10 states, including California, Florida and Virginia. “They love coming to Bowling Green because of how they are treated,” Whitney said. “The hospitality is just great here. You just don’t find this kind of hospitality in large cities - people going out of their way to help you.” Whitney credits the tournament’s appeal and staying power to local businesses, which continue to support the two-day event generously. “Our sponsors and local businesses in Bowling Green really support us,” Whitney said. “We get donations from everyone in Bowling Green and that helps us put on a first-class tournament.” This year’s field includes former champions David Beckner, Lawrence Helm and David Moskwinski, as well as defending champion Paul Grisby, who fired an even-par 72 to take the crown. “Me and my friend Bobby Coleman look forward to coming up there every year,” Grisby, a Nashville native, said. “Everybody is so friendly up there. The golf course is in great shape. All of the guys are pretty nice.” Grisby admits there will be a little extra pressure as the defending champion. “Everybody will have their eye on you,” Grisby said. “You have a bull’s-eye on your back, so everybody will be looking at you. It makes it a little different.” But Grisby, who hasn’t played much this year due to health issues, said he’s ready to take a shot and see what happens. “The lowest score is always the one that wins, so that is what I’m shooting for,” Grisby said. “I’m just going to have fun and see what happens.” Whitney said he expects another exciting finish and he wouldn’t be surprised if the tournament has another first-time champion this year. “The field is wide open this year,” Whitney said. “We have a couple of guys who haven’t won it before - they might stand a chance, too. Dorian Lee (who finished third last year) and Anthony Tisdale (who finished fourth), they might be at the top this year.”

Perry out to prove a point at Ryder Cup Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:45:42 -0500
AKRON, Ohio — For more than two decades, no one ever paid much attention to Kenny Perry unless he happened to be holding the trophy at the end of the week. Few players have won 12 times and nearly $26 million so quietly. But there is no avoiding the attention now. Franklin’s Perry has won three times in his last six starts, with two other top 10s. What brought him as many headlines, however, was his decision to skip the British Open and stick to his original road map that would lead him to the Ryder Cup in his native Kentucky. He was vilified for turning his back on a chance to win a major, and even some of his fellow Americans privately expressed disdain that Perry would duck the best players in the world. More amazing than a 47-year-old making the Ryder Cup team is that Perry has done this without having played in three majors or two World Golf Championships. But instead of the spotlight causing him to cower, it has emboldened him. “I’ve always run from it, to tell you the truth,” Perry said Wednesday at the Bridgestone Invitational. “I’ve always been trying to hide from attention. But this year, for some reason, I feel like I can prove a point. It may not happen. I may fall flat on my face that week. It may be too much pressure, too much burden that I can’t handle it. I don’t know. “But I’m still going to enjoy it.” In his new role as a maverick, Perry is among the favorites at Firestone when the $8 million WGC event begins today with 80 players from around the world who qualified by winning select tournaments, being among the top 50 in the world or having played in the most recent Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup team. It will be the first significant event at Firestone without Tiger Woods since 1996, when he was winning his third straight U.S. Amateur. Woods is the three-time defending champion at the Bridgestone Invitational, where he has won six times. “Everybody will just move up one place from where they finished in the past,” Stewart Cink said of Woods’ absence as the world’s No. 1 player recovers from season-ending knee surgery. Padraig Harrington will be making his first start since winning the British Open at Royal Birkdale. Phil Mickelson, who won at Firestone in 1996 when it was the World Series of Golf, is energized about the final two months of the season. Perry is considered among the favorites, and for good reason. A streaky player his entire career, his fortunes began turning with a fluke loss in Atlanta, when his fairway metal to the 18th green on the TPC Sugarloaf ricocheted off a tree, across the green and into the water during a playoff. “I didn’t get too down on it because I knew my game was coming back to where I was getting competitive again,” he said. Two weeks later, he won the Memorial. Four weeks later, he won the Buick Open. And then he made it two straight victories when he won the John Deere Classic. The buzz with Perry turned out to be the tournament he didn’t play. “Kenny Perry is his own guy,” Cink said. “He didn’t want to go to the British, so he didn’t go. In a way, you have to admire that. He didn’t back down and change his schedule. But who knows how many more chances Kenny is going to have to win the British Open?” Through all criticism, Perry has found some comedy. “In 22 years, nobody has ever cared where I played golf,” Perry said with a laugh. The difficult part now is paying attention to the five tournaments he plays before the Ryder Cup. It starts with the Bridgestone Invitational, on a South Course at Firestone that is much tamer than last year. Instead of rough up to the ankles, which caused shots to squirt sideways and left only one player under par, the rough is a moderate 3 inches and rain has softened the fairways and greens. Perry has never won a WGC event, although he came close three years ago when he had a two-shot lead over Woods at the turn, only to bogey five out of six holes and tie for sixth. “I got the fist pumps put on me,” Perry said. These days, he is getting more than just fists. Perry has relished in the reaction from some of the players who are trying to capture the potion that has enabled him to win so much this summer. They are touching him for luck, even rubbing his golf clubs. “It’s just been magical to have it fall together the way it did,” Perry said. The most meaningful praise has come from Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger, one of the few who had no qualms with Perry skipping the British Open to play in Milwaukee. “He’s in a great place in his life,” Azinger said Wednesday. “He’s second on the money list, he has a chance to win the FedEx Cup, he’s playing in the Ryder Cup. Most guys who get to this age are having a mid-life crisis. He could win the money title.” Perry has digested all the criticism over the last month about his British Open absence and turned it into motivation that he hopes will last through the Ryder Cup. “I love stuff like that,” he said. “I love when people tell me I can’t do something, because I’m going to prove you wrong. I’m kind of a low-key, easygoing guy, and I need stuff like that. When I get something burning in my belly a little bit, it just inspires me to work a little bit hard. And at my age, I need that.”

Lady Topper soccer stars have strong offseason Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:45:46 -0500
Just a matter of weeks before the Western Kentucky women’s soccer team begins defense of its 2007 Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship, three Lady Toppers helped lead their respective club teams to national championships. Junior sisters Kellie Walker and Katie Walker helped the Michigan Force FC Under-19 team successfully defend their national title, while incoming freshman Hayley Marsh helped lead the Colorado Rush Under-18 squad to a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship. “We are very excited for Katie, Kellie and Hayley and extremely proud of what they accomplished this summer,” said Lady Topper coach Jason Neidell. “Not only should the experience have them sharp and ready to go when practice gets under way, but the value of being part of a championship culture cannot be underestimated in our drive to earn our first NCAA Tournament bid.” WKU is coming off a 14-3-3 season that also saw the program capture its first Sun Belt Conference championship with a 8-1-2 league mark. The Lady Toppers will open the exhibition season Aug. 14 against Memphis. Kick off will be at 1 p.m. at the WKU Soccer Complex.

Lady Topper volleyball honored Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:45:47 -0500
The Western Kentucky volleyball team was one of 70 Division I programs to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2007-08 season. The award - given annually by the American Volleyball Coaches Association - recognizes programs that maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average throughout the academic year. WKU joined UALR and Denver as the only three Sun Belt Conference schools to receive the honor. “Even with all the success we have enjoyed on the court in recent years, I am even more proud of the work our kids have done in the classroom,” said Lady Topper coach Travis Hudson. “This award, as well as maintaining our 100 percent graduation rate, is a tribute to the type of people we have in our program and the dedication they have to making the most of their education.” This award marks the sixth time since 1999 that WKU has been recognized by the AVCA for its work in the class room. It is also the second academic honor for the Lady Toppers since May, when they were named the WKU Female Scholar Team at the annual academic banquet.

New gunslinger at Trinity High Fri, 01 Aug 2008 04:29:00 EST
A new gunslinger is taking charge of the Trinity High School football team's offense, but he's more stone-cold killer than Wild West outlaw. Senior Cameron Smyth has become the Shamrocks' quarterback after the graduation of Will Stein, and coach Bob Beatty said Smyth is making his presence known without a lot of talk. Blog: Jason Frakes Blog: Jody Demling

KHSSA provides heat-index guidelines Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:54:00 EST
As full-pads football practices open across Kentucky today, high school coaches in all fall sports are keeping one eye on their teams and the other on the thermometer.

Bustin living the Olympic dream again Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:25:00 EST
University of Louisville field hockey coach Pam Bustin was packing a suitcase yesterday morning when she heard a voice on television say, "NBC's 'Today Show' will be live in Beijing on Monday."

7 Russians booted for doping Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:55:00 EST
Only one week before the Beijing Olympics, Russia suddenly has its own version of a BALCO doping scandal involving some of the track team's biggest stars.

James lifts U.S. over Turkey Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:55:00 EST
LeBron James snatched the opening shot right off the rim, raced the ball all the way up the floor and made a tough runner while moving away from the basket.

Griffey dealt to White Sox Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:59:00 EST
Ken Griffey Jr. is leaving home to get back in a pennant race. The Chicago White Sox acquired Griffey from the Cincinnati Reds yesterday, hoping the 38-year-old outfielder can help them hold onto their slim lead in the AL Central.

Dream never came true Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:59:00 EST
In the end -- and the end came yesterday -- there were no trophies or rings or memories of glorious Octobers for Ken Griffey Jr. and the Cincinnati Reds. More a collection of might-have-beens and what-ifs.

Hit and miss for the Bats, 6-3 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:56:00 EST
Fifteen hits weren't enough for the Louisville Bats, who fell 6-3 to Charlotte last night. Drew T. Anderson was 4 for 5, Shaun Cumberland was 3 for 4 and Kevin Barker was 3 for 5 with a homer for Louisville, but the Knights managed 14 hits, including five doubles, for the win.

Gaze at stars and more at Patoka Lake Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:41:00 EST
Learn more about the universe tomorrow at Patoka Lake in Southern Indiana as local astronomy clubs gather. Also, the migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds will be celebrated this weekend at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in Western Kentucky.

Brooks: Pulley could still start Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:24:00 EST
Curtis Pulley is going to lose playing time, coach Rich Brooks said, but he'll still have a chance to win the University of Kentucky's starting quarterback position.

Big Brown 1-2 favorite for Haskell Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:08:00 EST
Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown drew the No. 4 post and was made a 1-2 favorite for Sunday's $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park.

PREP BASEBALL: Elizabethtown upends Central Hardin Thu, 1 May 2008 23:03:08 -0500
ELIZABETHTOWN What a difference two weeks can make.

PREP BASEBALL: John Hardin sweeps North Hardin Thu, 1 May 2008 23:03:06 -0500
RADCLIFF It’s been said that hitting is contagious and the John Hardin Bulldogs certainly had a bad case of it spread through the team Thursday night.

PREP SOFTBALL: Krupinski, Central Hardin shut out John Hardin Thu, 1 May 2008 23:03:06 -0500
CECILIA Having been shut out in their previous two games, the Central Hardin Lady Bruins were in a little bit of a funk.

PREP SOFTBALL/BASEBALL ROUNDUP: Lady Panthers fall; Mayfield moves to 7-1 Thu, 1 May 2008 23:03:07 -0500
The slumping Elizabethtown Lady Panthers lost for the 10th time in 13 games, falling to visiting Warren Central on Thursday, 3-1.

BOYS'/GIRLS' PREP TENNIS RESULTS: Thursday's Matches Thu, 1 May 2008 23:03:07 -0500
Results from Thursday's area high school tennis matches:

EKJGA first season rates as a success
Year one of the Eastern Kentucky Junior Golf Association is in the books.

Boyd baseball has new head coach
Boyd County High School’s baseball coaching staff is undergoing a shuffle.

Russell-Flatwoods likely set for quarterfinals
Russell-Flatwoods 11- and 12-year-old softball All-Stars took a loss on Thursday, but stood to hang on as the winner of a four-way tiebreaker to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round.

Webb notches No. 15
Brandon Webb scattered six hits in eight innings to win his big league-leading 15th game, and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Los Angeles 2-1 Thursday night to extend their lead over the Dodgers to two games in the NL West.

MELINDA ROBINSON: Francis drives back to victory 080108
Ashland’s Steve Francis snapped his 19-race winless streak, capturing two victories in last week’s Alltel Ohio Speedweek, sanctioned by the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Hartline to begin camp as UK starting quarterback
Kentucky coach Rich Brooks says quarterback Curtis Pulley’s recent legal troubles mean Mike Hartline will begin preseason camp as the starting quarterback.

AP source: Griffey agrees to trade with White Sox
Ken Griffey Jr. agreed Thursday to accept a trade to the Chicago White Sox, leaving it up to the commissioner’s office to approve the deal because money is involved, a person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press.

Heat has slowed fishing at Barren
First off this week, we’ll get to Bill Logsdon’s Barren River Lake fishing report.

LOCAL SPORTS BRIEF
Glasgow cross country team begins practice MondayMeet the Scotties set for Aug. 14YMCA youth soccer league begins Sept. 1BCHS alumni football game is SaturdayBCMS fall softball tryouts set for Aug. 7-8Barren boys soccer alumni game is Aug. 8

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