Sports

Prep football primer

2008-08-27T07:25:31Z

Darren and I spent the evening putting together all the football preview stories for Friday's special section. After talking to each of the seven coaches regarding the upcoming season, here's what we learned:

Aztec: The Tigers are stocked once again. This is a program that is starting to mirror Farmington baseball and Piedra Vista softball, where it's never about rebuilding, but instead reloading. The Tigers have a wealth of skill-position guys back, including all-world rusher Mike Hathcock. Add in a few dynamite receivers and it's not a stretch to think Aztec will continue to light up the scoreboard.

Bloomfield: The Bobcats will be somewhat young in 2008, but they should continue to dominate District 1-3A. Perhaps the best news for Bloomfield is a tougher schedule, one that includes contests against St. Michael's (defending 3A state champ), Kirtland Central and Aztec (both 4A finalists a year ago) and Albuquerque Academy (a 3A team that advanced deep into the state playoffs in 2007). That slate should speed up Bloomfield's growth and prepare the team for the postseason.

Farmington: The Scorpions have a favorable schedule under first-year coach Gary Bradley, who comes to FHS via 5A power Mayfield. Farmington last had a winning record in the regular season in 2005, when the Scorps finished 5-5 before losing in the playoffs to eventual state champ Silver. Farmington doesn't have great numbers this fall, but Bradley is optimistic with the season opener against Gallup just days away.

Kirtland Central: A new coach (Charles Gleghorn), a new quarterback (Jeff Belin) and a new offensive system (the spread) make the Broncos a bit of a question mark. Kirtland has talent and a number of returning contributors from last year's semifinalist squad. Now, it's about meshing all the pieces together in a complicated offense, which Gleghorn believes won't be a problem. The coach said his team has looked very solid through the first two weeks of practice. I talked with him tonight, and my first question was, "What are your expectations?" His immediate response was, "Our expectations are to win a state championship." No hesitation. His squad appears to be similarly confident, which bodes well going into Friday's opener against Blanding, Utah. Besides Belin, other offensive weapons include RB Chay Aguirre, receivers Kyle Williams, Todd Farnsworth and Gabe West.

Navajo Prep: The Eagles have high hopes under second-year coach DeJong DeGroat, who seemingly moved each of his skill guys to new positions. Prep will be young, but has a year of experience in DeGroat's system under its belt. That experience should go a long way as the Eagles take on a more challenging schedule this season.

Piedra Vista: The Panthers' schedule offers absolutely no favors. Start with a trip to Montrose, Colo., a tough opponent right out of the gate. Then, Littleton, Colo., comes to Hutch in Week 2, and Littleton, a top-flight large school, won its season opener 47-0 last week. Week 3? Merely a road game at Goddard, last year's runner-up in Class 4A. Throw in a game against 5A Rio Rancho, a date with Aztec and a visit to Kirtland, and PV has to be playing one of the toughest schedules in all of 4A. Coach Jared Howell often talks about getting big-game experience against quality opponents so that the Panthers aren't surprised by talented clubs in the playoffs. This slate has plenty of big-game potential. The multi-talented Brennon Shay replaces his cousin, Paul Shay, at quarterback, while Niles Taylor and Eli Finch should give PV a potent rushing attack. Cody Colbath (tight end and defensive end) and Jake McCasland (defensive end) also will be leaned on heavily.

Shiprock: It's all about rebuilding for the Chieftains, who are classified as a 4A independent this season. New coach Ricky Ballard said he plans to go 9-0 against a schedule that is more in line with Shiprock's talent level, as opposed to last year's nearly impossible go against District 1-4A. The Chiefs open Friday at Espanola, with third-year QB Tyson Billy set to return for his final campaign. A good rushing attack, which Ballard hopes to make an offensive focal point, should alleviate some of the pressure on Billy, who often was forced to scramble for his life in 2007.

Olympics: goodbye China

2008-08-24T22:57:01Z

Hey, the Olympics are over. When did that happen? I'll admit, I lost interest. Sometime last week, I reached my peak. Still good to see the U.S. men win a gold medal in basketball. I have a hard time believing the Americans are merely 11 points better than Spain, but international play is a different beast. I am looking forward to tonight's closing ceremony. I wonder what the Chinese will fake this time around.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we saw prep sports return late last week. It's fresh, exciting and there's a lot of anticipation for the fall campaign, especially on the soccer pitch, which figures to be brimming with tight matches. I love saying "pitch." I still know little about soccer, but by saying and writing pitch, I can mask that a little bit. If only I could get past the tendency to refer to the goalkeeper as the goaltender.

Football starts Friday, with two local games: Blanding (Utah) at Kirtland Central and Gallup at Farmington High. Friday nights in the fall? It just doesn't get any better than that.

Well, we're getting back into a routine at the office. Darren just returned from San Diego, so hopefully we can get back to normal.

Now, I must prepare for my Fantasy Football draft. I'm hoping for the No. 4 pick, but if I go first, look out Tarvaris Jackson. I got a nice little war room set up here at my apartment. Sheets spread all across the coffee table and my cell phone flipped open (just because I always see that in real war rooms during the NFL draft ... we'll see if it helps or not).

FHS girls soccer bracket

2008-08-19T22:53:30Z

Just though I'd pass along the bracket for this weekend's FHS girls soccer tournament. Why? Because I care.

Here it is:

FHS Girls Soccer Invitational
Friday's Games
At Hutchison Stadium
1 p.m. -- Rehoboth vs. Santa Fe Prep (Game 1)
3 p.m. -- Farmington vs. Gallup (Game 2)
At Piedra Vista High School
4 p.m. -- Aztec vs. St. Michael's (Game 3)
5:30 p.m. -- Piedra Vista vs. Los Alamos (Game 4)

Saturday's Games
Consolation Bracket
At Piedra Vista High School
10 a.m. -- Farmington/Gallup loser vs. Rehoboth/SFP loser (Game 5)
10 a.m. -- Piedra Vista/Los Alamos loser vs. Aztec/St. Michael's loser (Game 6)
Consolation Championship
2 p.m. -- Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Seventh-Place Game
2 p.m. -- Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6

Championship Bracket
At Hutchison Stadium
10 a.m. -- Farmington/Gallup winner vs. Rehoboth/SFP winner (Game 7)
Noon -- Piedra Vista/Los Alamos winner vs. Aztec/St. Michael's winner (Game 8)
Third-Place Game
3 p.m. -- Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Championship Game
5 p.m. -- Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8

NMAA tweaks postseason selections

2008-08-19T16:44:20Z

Did you know: The NMAA has upped the ante for district play. No longer will the second-place team in each district automatically qualify for state tournaments. Instead, only each district champ will get an automatic berth, and the rest of the teams will be selected with at-large bids.

I think this is a smart move, but I'd hate to be the NMAA making all those at-large selections. That's a ton of headaches just waiting to happen.

We saw this a little bit during the state softball tournament last spring. Each of the five District 1-4A teams made it to state, and even though Shiprock finished fifth in 1-4A, the Lady Chiefs were giving fits to other clubs from lesser leagues. Thus, the new rule, by eliminating two guaranteed berths from each district, should provide for the absolute best 12 or 16 teams.

In volleyball and basketball, the two sports that offer district tournaments, teams that finish second during the regular season still can tally an automatic berth to state by winning those league playoffs.

If nothing else, the new policy should increase the intensity of regular-season games. It will be interesting what additional impact it has this school year.

You can check Wednesday's paper for a short piece on the change.

***

Also, it's hard to believe, but the prep season gets underway locally this Friday with Farmington High's girls soccer tournament. That same day, the FHS boys start their campaign with a bang when St. Pius comes to town. That will be a huge match before the calendar flips to September. We'll start cranking out preview stories this week, with boys and girls soccer. Volleyball will come next week, along with football.

Where did the summer go?

Hosmer signs minutes before deadline

2008-08-16T07:16:31Z

Well, Eric Hosmer signed his deal with the Kansas City Royals tonight, just 10 minutes before the deadline was set to arrive. Hosmer, who otherwise would have went to Arizona State to play for the Sun Devils, got about a $6 million signing bonus. In a related story, my retirement account just rocketed past the $500 mark, so "Hos" and I appear destined for a similar tax bracket ... provided I become, like, the 26th person to rob a Farmington bank this year.

Regardless, here's the link from the Royals Web site detailing Hosmer's signing:

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080816&content_id=3317363&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Linked

2008-08-15T15:32:59Z

Just doing a little browsing on Eric Hosmer. Here's a link from the Royals Web site. The story was posted earlier this week, and includes some good quotes from Kansas City GM Dayton Moore.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080813&content_id=3302679&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Also, below is a link to a Yahoo! Sports column that discusses the recent debate over the Chinese gymnasts. Pretty interesting stuff.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news?slug=dw-gymnastsage081408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Hosmer negotiations coming down to wire

2008-08-15T06:50:32Z

As of Thursday night, Eric Hosmer has not signed with the Kansas City Royals. Hosmer, who was just in Farmington with the Midland (Ohio) Redskins for the Connie Mack World Series, has until midnight Friday to come to terms with the Royals. Otherwise, it's off to Arizona State for the first baseman, who was the third overall pick in June's MLB First-Year Player Draft.

An AP article put the number of first-round picks who have yet to sign at 10. Scott Boras represents, I believe, four of the unsigned players, including Hosmer.

This Phelps guy sure can swim

2008-08-15T06:28:23Z

Something tells me this isn't Michael Phelps' first time in a swimming pool. Did everybody watch the splendid swimmer Thursday night (Friday morning in Beijing ... I think)? The guy's incredible. Six events, six gold medals, six world records. Two more wins, and Phelps eclipses Mr. Mark Spitz, who took home seven golds at the 1972 Olympics. At this point in the week, who'd bet against Phelps? He swims Friday and Saturday in two events he's pretty much dominated.

Do I follow swimming? About as much as I follow team archery. But I can appreciate greatness. Tuesday evening, I watched one of the relays. Phelps went first, and the next three swimmers could have jumped in with a life vest and still held off the competition. By the fourth leg, the U.S. was out to such a commanding lead, NBC was forced to switch to a wider camera view to fully capture each athlete.

Needless to say, I'll be watching Phelps as he bids for an unprecedented eight gold medals these next two days.

***

Speaking of the Olympics, I noticed a portion of the sailing competition was canceled Thursday. The reason? No wind. I nearly fell out of my chair when I read that in the AP agate. It makes so much sense, but still, that's good comedy.

***

Check out Friday's paper for a piece on Kirtland Central quarterback Jeff Belin. The senior slinger has done an admirable job of learning new coach Charles Gleghorn's intricate, pass-first, second and third offense. The Broncos will run the spread this season, similar to what Brad Hirsch runs at Aztec. And with former Mayfield assistant Gary Bradley now at FHS, and Piedra Vista's ability to throw the football, it could be a fun fall in the Four Corners. Not that ground games are boring, but all that passing's just fun to watch.

***

Finally, former Farmington High baseball standout Matt McGinley received a pair of prestigious awards recently. The center fielder, who is bound for New Mexico State, was voted to the District 7 First Team. I'm not 100-percent positive what District 7 encompasses, but it's roughly six Southwest states. I'll learn more Friday.

McGinley also was named New Mexicos' Prep Player of the Year by the Louisville company. That article will be in Saturday's paper.

Piedra Vista bolstering coaching staff

2008-08-13T11:06:04Z

Darren put together a story for Wednesday's paper regarding Bryan Chavez moving from Bloomfield to Piedra Vista. Chavez coached boys basketball and softball at Bloomfield, guiding the Lady Bobcats to their second Class 3A state championship in as many seasons last spring. And he did a terrific job turning the hoops squad into annual District 1-3A contenders.

Now, Chavez, who is trying to free up personal time as he pursues a master's degree, will work as a football and boys basketball assistant at PV, and could join Kevin Werth's softball staff.

Another former head coach, Mike Christie, appears to be headed to Piedra Vista, as well. It has been mentioned that Christie will work either with the boys or girls basketball team this season. Christie last coached the Kirtland Central girls in 2005-06, and is one of the more respected hoops minds in the Four Corners.

East Cobb, Midland Game 2 log

2008-08-09T02:16:14Z

Starting lineups:

Redskins (visitor)
1. Eric Hosmer (1B)
2. T.J. Jones (2B)
3. Zack Cox (3B)
4. Josh Richmond (CF)
5. Cory Farris (RF)
6. James McCann (C)
7. Brent Warren (LF)
8. Deven Marrero (SS)
9. David Lyon (DH)
Walker Kelly (P)

Yankees (home)
1. Jonathan Taylor (CF)
2. Evan Martin (RF)
3. Kyle Farmer (2B)
4. Matt Skole (3B)
5. Jason Stolz (SS)
6. Brandon Miller (DH)
7. Jarrett Didrick (LF)
8. Jake Davies (1B)
9. Spencer Kieboom (C)
Adam Morgan (P)

For the second time tonight, the Redskins left the bases full in the top of the first inning. Midland had the sacks packed with one out, but Morgan got Farris swinging and McCann to bounce out to third.

This game is starting out much like the first. After a missed scoring opportunity for the Redskins, the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the first when left-hander Matt Skole poked an RBI double to the gap in left-center to score Jonathan Taylor.

After an inning of play, it's 1-0 Yanks.

Walker Kelly just got the hook for Michael Nastold after 1 1-3 innings. The Yankees have made it a 2-0 game and have Didrick at second base with one out.

Pretty quiet game, but let's pass along an update. It remains 2-0 East Cobb, whose starting pitcher, Adam Morgan, is dealing. Morgan, a lefty, has six strikeouts through four innings. Midland just can't get much going against him. Crisp game, thus far, but with these two talented clubs, offense isn't far away.

Perhaps the best at-bat of the week just came from Jake Davies, the EC first baseman. After fouling off five Nastold pitches with two strikes, Davies turned on an inside fastball and ripped a two-run shot over the wall in right field to give the Yankees a 4-0 edge.

Also, here's a link to the story from last night's somewhat controversial contest between East Cobb and the Arizona Firebirds.

http://www.daily-times.com/sports/ci_10136734

Ladies ang gentlemen, the fifth-inning stretch courtesy of Harry Caray. "Stand, stretch and sing along," PA guy Kim Carpenter just implored the fans. And they responded. I love that.

Oh, the game. That's right. Hosmer made it 4-1 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, but Morgan did a great job avoiding further trouble.

That champagne is probably going on the ice about now. Probably not considering these guys are all 16, 17 and 18 years old, but that's my way of working some alcohol into the conversation. In any regard, the Yankees are six outs away from a national championship, which would be their fifth since 1999. Something we haven't touched on much is the Yankees' ... well, odd streak. They won the World Series in 1999, 2001, 2003 and '05. This would be their first even-year championship. We'll call it Even Stephen. No we won't, because that would be stupid.

And Cory Farris has just made it a two-run EC lead with a solo blast that may or may not have landed yet. If it did, it's in Bloomfield. T.J. Rich just replaced Morgan on the bump. Heck of a job by Morgan, who fanned eight in five-plus innings. He gave up two earned runs on six hits.

The Minnesota Twins beat the Royals 4-1 tonight. That's fantastic. Those are my boys. They don't know it yet, but we're pretty tight. And newsflash: Brett Favre has just been traded to the Jets. I didn't even know he was thinking about coming out of retirement. Why didn't ESPN cover this story?

Just to be safe, we're going to sign off here. It's going to the top of the seventh with the Yankees leading 4-2. Three more outs, and that's a wrap. It's getting late so I'm going to head down to the field. We'll update the Daily Times Web site once we get back to the office. And check out Saturday's paper for a complete recap from tonight's action.

By the way, Hosmer is leading off the top of the seventh. Could be interesting.

2006 revisited?

2008-08-09T01:55:49Z

I'm taking the easy way out. Below is the link for the article from the 2006 final between the Firebirds and Braves. That was a wild night. Arizona won both games by a combined 33-4 (Trombly had the same situation in 2005, needing just one win in two tries, and lost twice that year, as well).

Game 2 is about 10 minutes away. I'll pass along the starting lineups with a new running log in a minute or two.

http://louiestgeorge.blogspot.com/2006/08/firebirds-soar-game-report.html

East Cobb, Midland ready for showtime

2008-08-08T23:11:55Z

Nothing says championship round of the Connie Mack World Series like Ronald McDonald, who has made an appearance, complete with snack wraps, in the press box.

It's 5:15 p.m., 15 minutes away from showtime between the undefeated East Cobb (Ga.) Yankees and the one-loss Midland (Ohio) Redskins. Should be some excellent baseball between two star-studded clubs. The Redskins, of course, need two wins, while the Yanks need just one. It's a role reversal from 2007, when EC needed to knock off Midland twice.

We'll have much, much more as the opening pitch draws near.

As we watch the grounds crew water down the infield, there's still not much of a crowd here. Rest assured, Ricketts will be full within a half hour, but it's almost like folks know there's going to be two games tonight. It's inevitable. With the way this week has gone, there's no chance we're seeing just seven innings of baseball. And that's fine, I accept it.

!0 minutes and counting.

Who wants some starting lineups? Let's do this.

Redskins (visitors)
1. Eric Hosmer (1B)
2. T.J. Jones (2B)
3. Zack Cox (3B)
4. Josh Richmond (CF)
5. Cory Farris (RF)
6. Brent Warren (LF)
7. Deven Marrero (SS)
8. James McCann (DH)
9. David Lyon (C)
Keith Landers (P)

Yankees (home)
1. Jonathan Taylor (CF)
2. Evan Martin (RF)
3. Kyle Farmer (2B)
4. Matt Skole (3B)
5. Jason Stolz (SS)
6. Brandon Miller (DH)
7. Jake Davies (1B)
8. Jarrett Didrick (LF)
9. Spencer Kieboom (C)
Ben McKinney (P)

Ronnie Mac just threw out the second of three ceremonial first pitches. He followed Steve Pierce, and preceded a member of the U.S. Army, a decorated soldier who received a warm and much-appreciated applause.

The Yankees have taken the field to John Fogerty's "Centerfield." This song always gives me goose bumps. Fellow reader(s), it doesn't get any better than this.

The first pitch is seconds away.

Odd start. The Redskins collected three singles in the top of the first inning against EC starter Ben McKinney, but failed to score. With the bases loaded, McKinney fanned Farris before inducing a 4-3 groundout from Warren.

East Cobb has charged ahead with a two-run first. Kyle Farmer drove in a pair of runs with a single down the right-field line. That followed a double steal by the Yanks.

It's 2-0 after an inning.

McKinney has loaded the bases with no outs, bringing up ... Eric Hosmer. And McKinney is going to be lifted in favor of Carter Harrison. Hosmer is back in the leadoff spot tonight. He simply wasn't seeing any pitches to hit in the three hole. The Yanks have to pitch to the 2007 CMWS MVP here. Big at-bat for just the top of the second inning.

We got a lead change. Midland scored three times, starting with Hosmer's sac fly to right. T.J. Jones followed with a run-scoring single to center and Zack Cox drove in the third run with another sacrifice fly.

If you're scoring at home, and I know you are, add another run to the Midland side. Cory Farris ripped a Harrison offering onto Fairgrounds Road to make it 4-2 Redskins through two and a half.

Hosmer came across in the top of the fourth on a wacky flyball to right field. Yankees second baseman Kyle Farmer collided with right fielder Evan Martin, and both players went down, allowing Hosmer to score from third. Midland's out to a 5-2 advantage.

Ann Landers' son is absolutely cruising through this East Cobb lineup. Since the two-run first, Landers has been untouchable. He hasn't allowed a hit the last three innings while striking out five ... nine up, nine down.

We may be headed for a second game. The Redskins tacked on run No. 6 in the fifth to go ahead 6-2. That's the score through four and a half innings of play.

Keith Landers continues to impress. He's flat-out baffling the Yanks at this point with a collection of off-speed stuff. And East Cobb's body language suggests the squad is growing frustrated. Landers has retired the last 14 batters he's faced, and is riding a string of five straight punchouts.

Heading to the top of the seventh, we got a 6-3 ballgame. Landers finally yielded a hit as EC scored on Kyle Farmer's sac fly to right (lot of those tonight). If the Redskins do, in fact, hold on to win this one, we'll break out the history books and take a look back at the 2006 world series, when the Ariz. Firebirds beat the Trombly (Calif.) Braves twice on the final night for a national title.

Hosmer came into the night with a paltry .167 batting average. But he's 4-for-4 with two RBIs, a double and a run scored after scorching a run-scoring two-bagger to the gap in right-center to give the Skins a 7-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Hosmer, by the way, was out trying to stretch it into a triple.

One away for the Yankees.

That'll do it for Game 1. The Redskins win it 7-4 to set up a winner-take-all final. We'll start a new blog for that one, a contest that should start in about 30 minutes.

A decision has been made...

2008-08-08T05:43:10Z

...and it's one that's likely to be talked about for a long, long time. According to Louie, who called me on his way back from Ricketts, the game has been called after 4 1/2 innings, with East Cobb declared a 6-5 winner over the Arizona Firebirds. It's certainly within the AABC's right to make this move, according to the rules that dictate what constitutes an official game.

That said, this certainly will be a tough one to swallow for Arizona, which had to believe it had a chance of a come-from-behind victory had all seven innings been played. It's also tough for the fans who came out tonight to see a spectacular game, which is exactly what seemed to be on tap had the rain and lightning not come. Instead, the Arizona fans are left to wonder "what if," while the East Cobb faithful was spared what certainly would have been a nail-biting finish. It must be a tough way to go out for players such as Daniel Coulombe, who was set to come into the game in the bottom of the fifth and had played in the CMWS in each of the past three summers. It also has to be tough for Farmington native Chris Coleman and former Farmington resident Brandon Garcia, both of whom came oh-so close to fulfilling their childhood dreams of playing for a World Series championship in their hometown.

In any case, the result is that the East Cobb Yankees will face the Midland Redskins tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in a rematch of last year's championship game, while the Arizona Firebirds are headed home following their second defeat of the week.

Should Midland defeat East Cobb at 5:30, a second game will be played at 8 p.m. to determine the champion. If East Cobb wins the first game, the Yankees will complete an undefeated run through the 2008 CMWS and win their fifth championship in the past 10 World Series. It's going to be a barnburner of an evening at Ricketts tomorrow...but let's hope the weather isn't a factor again. One would hate to see the championship game(s) not played to completion because of another downpour.

Running log of Yankees-Firebirds

2008-08-08T02:02:33Z

Here's the starting lineups for both teams.

Firebirds (visitors)
1. Chavez (2B)
2. MacPhee (SS)
3. Summers (CF)
4. Jones (C)
5. Garcia (RF)
6. Nesbit (LF)
7. Casillas (1B)
8. Helm (P)
9. Stiner (3B)

Yankees (home)
1. Taylor (CF)
2. Martin (RF)
3. K. Farmer (2B)
4. Skole (3B)
5. Stolz (SS)
6. Miller (C)
7. Davies (1B)
8. Didrick (LF)
9. Craft (DH)
B. Farmer (P)

Jonathan Taylor just manufactured a run for the Yankees. Taylor led off with a walk, stole second, stole third and then came across on a passed ball to give East Cobb a 1-0 edge. And Brandon Miller has just laced a run-scoring single through the 5.5 hole to make it 2-0. Somewhere, Tony Gwynn's smiling. So, too, are Yankee fans with Jake Davies' RBI single to center to open up a 3-0 lead for the boys in blue.

Wow, pitching change already for Arizona. Summers will replace Helm, who lasts just two-thirds of an inning.

Excellent crowd on hand tonight, though that's kind of been the norm all week, even for the afternoon contests. The City of Farmington must be making a killing on parking tickets.

After an inning, it's 3-0.

Firebirds slugger Brandon Garcia just launched a two-run bomb to right-center to make it 3-2.

Tie game on Matt Helm's solo shot to left-center. That ball got out in a hurry. Man, this Arizona club can swing the bats.

We have a frisbee epidemic at the ballpark. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you keep throwing those frisbees, we will have to confiscate them," Rick Hoerner just said over the PA system. They're plastic, but keep ending up on the field. We may have the FBI on hand before this is all said and done.

Matt Skole just bounced a two-run homer off the wall in left field to give the Yanks a 6-3 lead. Taylor had come across a moment before on a passed ball to give EC a one-run lead before Skole showed off his big-league power.

Just a note on Friday's lineup. There's a few different scenarios depending on tonight's game (which is now 6-4 on an RBI Texas Leaguer from Summers). If the Firebirds win, they get a bye into the 7:30 p.m. championship game, and the Yankees would play Midland at, I believe, 5:15. All three teams would have one loss, but Arizona has yet to have a bye, while both EC and the Redskins have.

If East Cobb wins tonight? That's simple. It's the Yanks and Skins, with Midland needing to win twice. The action would start at 5:15.

Correction: Friday's baseball will start at 5:30, not 5:15.

Summers and Buck Farmer have settled into a little bit of a groove here. It's 6-4 after four full, and both pitchers have gotten stronger as the night's progressed. According to the scouting report (which is literally compiled for scouts) Summers was drafted by the New York Yankees but will play at U.C. Irvine.

Your very own Home Run Derby champ Travis Jones just blasted a line-drive shot to center to cut East Cobb's lead to 1 at 6-5.

Flickers of lightning becoming more prevalent, along with drops of rain ...

LIGHTNING DELAY! I can't stress this enough: I love monsoon season.

Maybe it was a rain delay because it's coming down pretty good out there. The tarps around home plate and the pitching mound are already down, and the big ones aren't far behind. Let's see how this plays out.

IT. IS. POURING.

The power just went out at the ballpark, with a transponder blowing up somewhere off in the distance. This is a spectacular light show, but kind of scary. It's pretty dark out here, and I can't imagine we'll be playing again tonight. It's not raining, but it downpoured, I'm talking sheets, for a solid 15 minutes.

Yankees-Firebirds minutes away

2008-08-08T01:53:29Z

It's nearly game time here at Ricketts, with the East Cobb (Ga.) Yankees and Arizona Firebirds ready to hook up under ... brace yourselves ... clear blue skies. I'll start a running log in a minute, once I rip through this sausage and bag of Cheetos.

By the way, the Midland (Ohio) Redskins won the evening game 9-4 to oust the Connecticut Bombers. Connecticut was a 2-0 loser this afternoon. So we're down to three squads at the 2008 Connie Mack World Series.