Archive for the ‘Newspapers’ Category

ASA 45+ Nationals – Results

Monday, September 14th, 2009

Mens 45 Fast pitch ASA National Tournament – Fresno, CA

Game / Bracket / Score

Game 1 W Savala Painting 4 Bay Area Merchants 1
Game 2 W Airtronics 6 California Strom 3
Game 3 W Savala Painting 8 Party Time Rentals 5
Game 4 L California Storm 11 Bay Area Merchants 4
Game 5 W Savala Painting 7 Airtronics 5
Game 6 L California Storm 15 Party Time Rentals 0
Game 7 L Airtronics 7 California Strom 6
Game 8 L Bay Area Mechants 11 Party Time Rentals 4
Game 9 C Airtronics 6 Savala Painting 3
Game 10 C Airtronics 9 Savala Painting 5

FINAL ORDER OF FINISH

1st Airtronics 4 – 1 National Champions
2nd Savala Painting 3 – 2
3rd California Storm 2 – 2
4th Bay Area Mechants 1 – 2
5th Party Time Rentals 0 – 3

ISF Worlds – Day 4 coverage from Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009


The Saskatoon StarPhoenix provides another day of outstanding coverage of the XII ISF World Men’s Fastball Championship. Click the links to see each story. Click the logo above to see the cover of the print edition featuring New Zealand’s Brad Rona.

Brits bring A-game vs. Japan


Shortstop Ryuji Hazeyama of Japan lets a ball get past to allow Brandon Horn of Britain to advance Photograph by: Greg Pender, The StarPhoenix

Canada on cruise control
Team 4-0 after downing Indonesia


Team Canada pitcher Dean Holoien throws against Indonesia Monday Photograph by: Greg Pender, The StarPhoenix

Mercy rule the rule of thumb


A ball thrown by Dean Holoien went through the plexiglass scorer’s window behind home plate Photograph by: Greg Pender, The StarPhoenix

New Zealand team lords of the dance

Daily recap

ISF Worlds stories from Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Monday, July 20th, 2009


(click logo to visit the official ISF XII World Championships website)

The Saskatoon StarPhoenix is providing great coverage of the ISF World Championship this week. Click the links below to read each story.

Canada cooking with extra helpings
Home team beats Aussies, improves to 3-0 at worlds

U.S. pitcher brushes back Japan

This story included some nice pub for an ISF rookie from California, the 2008 ISC II MVP, Marcus Tan:

“Koert got some defensive help from right-fielder Marcus Tan in the top of the sixth. Tan sprinted all the way to the wall to track down a well-hit ball from Hiraku Yokoyama.

“It was a great play,” Yokoyama, an outfielder, said through a translator.”

New Zealand saving last dance for Canada

Playing at worlds caps ball career
David Hutton is a Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter playing for Great Britain at the ISF world softball championship


Photograph by: Liam Richards, The StarPhoenix

Fastpitch Bulletins – Circa 1984

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Fastpitch Bulletins to be archived online at Fastpitchwest.com

1984. No, not George Orwell’s 1984. Fastpitch, circa 1984. None of Clyde Bennett’s Young Buck 23-and-under-players had even been born. But fastpitch was going full throttle, and being covered in the “Fastpitch Bulletin” by the late Ray Anderson and his ace reporter, the late Betty Stout (wife of Roy Stout). There were no computers to speak of back then, nor an internet to post the news on. It was a typwriter with a lot of time and patience that Ray used to put the Bulletin together and see that it got out to subscribers every month. A true labor of love. A year’s (first class mail) subscription was $12.50. That translates to $1.04 per issue. As you can see from the stamps on some of these issues, it was 54 cents to mail them back in 1984. Add in the xeroxing costs, and, well, you get the idea.

As I wrote on our “About Fastpitchwest” some ten years ago, the Fastpitch Bulletin played a big role in the establishment of this website:

The publication of FastpitchWest began in 1998, with the hope of helping to promote the game, teams and players of fastpitch, particularly those in Southern California and the West. In doing so, we pay appropriate homage to some of the people who have been, for the longest time, the “keepers of the flame”, ensuring that we in the world of fastpitch get our requisite dose of information about the exploits of our favorite players and teams: the late Ray Anderson, whose “Fastpitch Bulletins” still occupy an honored corner of my garage, and his top writer, the late Betty Stout who covered the game for years during the 1970’s and ’80’s. Bob Tomlinson, picked up the torch, and published the Fastpitch Chronicle serving as the “bible” of information for fastpitch for years (and now publishes it online)

We are currently in the process of archiving those old Fastpitch Bulletins, for our readers, filling in gaps with the help of co-NAFA founder and current ISC VP Jim Williamson. We will be adding a new section to the website, with menu buttons and all, but thought you might enjoy a sneak preview of some of the old issues. They are all in PDF format, so you’ll need Adobe Reader, but most computers have that nowadays. The first batch is from 1984, courtesy of Jim Williamson. (note the mailing label on the last page)

Last year, we were the successful bidder on eBay for the entire set of Bob Tomlinson’s Fastpitch Chronicles, and have spoken with Bob about a joint venture to make them available here, and at his site, the Fastpitchchronicle.com as well. That task is a bit more daunting, due to the fact that most issues of the Fastpitch Chronicle were published in “full newspaper format”, and therefore, do not fit in conventional 8.5 x 11″ scanners. But scan them we will, and look forward to making them available to fastpitch fans around the world.

We hope you enjoy this bit of fastpitch history. Like the players written about inside, the issues are a little worn around the edges, but with plenty of great stories to tell.

Comments welcome, jim (at) fastpitchwest (dot) com.

Click links below — but please be patient, the files are VERY large and take a little time to load, even on a high speed connection. Not sure where we’re going to house all of the issues, but we’ll figure it out as we go.

Fastpitch Bulletin – January 1984
Fastpitch Bulletin – February 1984
Fastpitch Bulletin – March 1984

(some issues still loading on Friday afternoon)

Watch this blog for further issues and information on the archives.

Giesbrecht gets shot at coveted world softball title

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

From the Winnepeg Free Press

[Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada] – Rob Giesbrecht of Landmark has been named to the national men’s softball team, which will compete in the 2009 ISF Senior Men’s World Championship set for July 17-26 in Saskatoon.

Giesbrecht, an honoured member of the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, has been a national senior men’s team player since 2003 but this will be his first time challenging for a world title since he helped Canada’s national junior men’s softball team win a world championship in 1993.

“This is unbelievable, this is the highest level we can play because we’re not in the Olympics and this is the biggest even for men’s softball so to be on this team means a lot to me,” said Giesbrecht, 34, a teacher at Landmark Collegiate.

Canada’s senior men competed in the 2004 world championship but Giesbrecht was unable to participate due to his teaching commitment. In 2003, he helped Canada win a gold medal in men’s softball at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and in 2007 he was on the the Canadian team that won silver at the Pan Am Championships in Mexico.

“It’s always been on my mind to go for this ultimate goal and now I have that chance,” Giesbrecht said. “It’s the last major title that I’m after because I’ve won Canadian, world junior, Pan Am and different club championships but this is the one that I really covet!”

Giesbrecht has been a member of the Vancouver Grey Sox senior men’s team since 2005 and won a Canadian championship title with the team in 2007. He has signed with them again for 2009, which means flying to Vancouver most weekends throughout the summer to play ball. His wife Michelle and son Luke, five, often accompany him.

Giesbrecht also won an Allan Cup in senior men’s hockey with the 2003 Ile des Chenes North Stars.

Former Black Sox Namana set to make Giants return

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

(click logo for original story)

Former Black Sox Namana set to make Giants return

By Gary Caffell

[Masterson, Wellington, New Zealand] – Former Black Sox Malcolm Namana will be returning to his old stamping grounds when he plays for Giants in their double header men’s softball matches with Cardinals at South Park, Masterton tomorrow.

Namana was a member of the Giants club back in the late 1980s before moving over the hill where he has played for such clubs as Totara Park, Cardinals and Poneke-Kilbirnie.

He had a season off last year but with longtime friend Tony Nixon being coach of Giants he expressed an interest in joining up with them in 2008-09, and Giants were only too happy to oblige.

Nixon and Namana actually played at club level together for both Giants and Totara Park and in 2000 they were both part of the US-based winning side at the National Softball Association world series in South Carolina.

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