Archive for January, 2010

Update on Jim Bradford Classic in Grafton, ON

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Update: Jan 30

Grafton -Jim Bradford Classic
20th year of the Classic
June 11-13
Entry $450
Guaranteed 3 games
Looking for 20 teams
top 12 go to playoff round.

This an Intermediate ,ISC11, and Junior tournament.
Sorry – No top Calibre Pitchers from ISC or National Team .
With 20 teams
Possible $ 3000.00 1st Prize
$ 1000.00 2nd
$ 250.00 for 3rd and 4th

Last years winners were:
Cobourg Force -$2500
Ottawa Team Easton -$1000
Waterdown Hammer -$200
New York Bombers – $200

Please e-mail if your team is interested

Please make cheques out to the “Jim Bradford Classic”
and send to :
Steve Bedard ,
71 Molson St. Port Hope
Ontario. L1A2K2

Have a care
Steve Bedard
sjbgolf (at) hotmail.com
905-885-0821

Islanders play well in international softball tournament

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

From the Summerside Journal Pioneer
(click link for original news story)

Photo by Summerside Journal Pioneer: Jeff Ellsworth

ERIC MCCARTHY
The Journal Pioneer

ALBERTON – Jeff Ellsworth, a resident of Brooklyn, P.E.I., was named tournament most valuable player at the recent Amateur Athletic Union’s international softball tournament at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Ellsworth was the designated hitter for the Chicago-New York Dominicans, and had hits in nine of his first 10 at-bats.” It was one of those weeks,” said Ellsworth, who had a tournament batting average around .700. “Everything was falling in place.” If luck was on his side in the batter’s box, it flowed over to the whole team by the end of the tournament. The [Chicago/New York] Dominicans went on to win the gold medal after both of the finalist teams withdrew. The [Chicago/New York] Dominicans, after winning their first six games of the tournament, were supposedly sidelined with a 6-0 semifinal loss to the Italian club. That team, however, withdrew because of scheduling issues and players having prior commitments. When the tournament organizers gave the Dominicans the green light to play in the final, their opponents, the Dominican national team, balked, Ellsworth related. When they refused to play, the championship was awarded to Chicago-New York.


Hardy pitches

One other West Prince resident played in the tournament, Alberton pitcher Mitchell Hardy.
It’s a bit of an adjustment leaving P.E.I. in January to pitch in an international softball tournament in Florida, he admits.

Hardy pitched in three of the Minnesota Angels’ five games. “Our first game was against the No. 1 pitcher in the world,” Hardy recounted. “It was a good experience just to see him play.”

Hardy pitched two innings in relief against Adam Folkard in that game, surrendering one hit.
Hardy pitched a total of 12 innings. His team finished the tournament with a record of three wins and two losses, bowing out in the quarter-finals to an Ontario team that was led by the world’s top pitcher from the ’90s, Darren Zack.

The tournament was the start of what both Ellsworth and Hardy are hoping will be a busy summer of ball. Ellsworth will be playing with the Broken Bow Patsies this summer and is hoping to retain his spot on Softball Canada’s national team.

Hardy is still deciding who he will be pitching for this summer, having invitations from the Angels, a team from Pennsylvania and the Kegel Knights, the squad he pitched for last year. Both Ellsworth and Hardy will also be playing in the Canadian senior men’s fast pitch championship with the Charlottetown Fawcetts in late August.

Editor’s note:

The above article was edited to correct the name of the tournament host as the Amateur Athletic Union, rather than the “American United Amateur Association” as it was described in the original news story. We also added “[Chicago/New York]” to clarify which Dominican team was referenced, distinguishing the Chicago/New York Dominicans mentioned in the story from the Dominican National team that they were to play in the finals. “Kiegel” was also corrected to “Kegel”.

Tavistock Mens Fastball Tournament – July 16-18

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

From Al’s Fastball

The village of Tavistock will again play host to some of the top Mens Fastball teams and players on the planet July 16th – 18th, 2010. Tavistock is located 15 minutes east of Stratford, 20 minutes west of Kitchener and 20 minutes north of Woodstock.

In 2007, Tavistock played host to the New Zealand Black Sox in a twin bill at beautiful Optimist Park.

In 2008, the Argentinean National Team came to town for a doubleheader at the newly renovated Queens Park.

Both of these events were very well attended and lead us to stepping things up to a two day event last July that included Jarvis, St Thomas, New Zealand Black Sox and the Sebringville Sting. Thanks to the tremendous community support for all of these previous events, we are looking to raise the bar again in 2010. Tavistock is directly located in the middle of our fastball hotbed in southwestern Ontario. Fan support for the game is alive and well and we wish to welcome at this time, any teams that may be interested in joining us for our 2010 Fastball festival. Last year we saw some great ball, LIVE entertainment in the beer tent, delicious breakfast sandwiches courtesy of our Junior Mens team and a lot of fun had by all.

We are planning similar entertainment and are looking for more World Class players and teams to join us this time around. We are blessed here in Tavistock to have two First Rate facilities to host such an event. The Optimist Park and Queens Park are located just two short blocks from one another giving us the opportunity to accommodate a good number of teams. I will be sending out more details and updates as we move towards spring. For now, if your team is interested in competing in this event, please contact me at:
davebailey (at) baileyconstruction.ca”.

The Defending World Champion Kitchener Rivershark Twins are already confirmed for this event. The 2009 Senior Canadian Hosts and Bronze Medallist St Thomas Centennials have also inquired. We are waiting for response before determining the number of teams and the format that we will use for this event, so please email me as soon as possible if your team is interested in participating in Tavistock 2010.

Again the dates for this Open Level Tournament are July 16th to 18th, 2010.

Kind Regards
Dave Bailey
President – Tavistock Minor Ball Association
davebailey (at) baileyconstruction.ca

2010 ISC “Legends” Division Tournament

Friday, January 29th, 2010

2010 ISC “LEGENDS” DIVISION TOURNAMENT
WHERE: MIDLAND, MI
WHEN: AUG 19 – 20 – 21
ENTRY FEE: $350.00(USD)
FORMAT: 4 GAME GUARANTEE
AGE CLASSIFICATION: 50+ (Player must reach age 50 during 2010 calendar year)
ELIGIBILITY: If a player on a ISC “LEGENDS” team is also on a ISC World Tournament team roster, that player cannot play on a ISC “LEGENDS”
team until his ISC World Tournament team is eliminated from the ISC World Tournament.

This tournament will be held on the last three days of the ISC World Tournament, with the ISC “LEGENDS” championship game scheduled between the ISC World Tournament Loser Bracket Finals and the ISC World Tournament Championship Game. The ISC LEGENDS Championship game is scheduled to be video streamed.
We are looking for sixteen (16) teams for this inaugural event. This is an invitational tournament with the first sixteen (16) teams confirming entry being accepted.

Interested teams should respond to:
Larry Fisher
lfisher838 (at) ameritech.net

Championship Games Not Played

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

On Sunday in Orlando, the Italian Athletic Club of California won their semi-final game, but had to leave to catch flights home, and forfeited out of the tournament. This past summer, the Pueblo Bandits and Portland teams forfeited out of the Best of the West tournament, resulting in cancellation of the championship game. It has happened elsewhere, but seems to be happening more often in recent years — perhaps due to the post 9/11 requirements to arrive at airports 2 or 3 hours ahead of flight time and the greater distances required, with fewer tournaments close to home.

What is the solution? Should teams that can’t stay for the championship game stay home? bring more players ? Just how early does a Sunday championship game have to be in order to allow teams to fly home in a post 9/11 world? We would be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject.

You can email us at jim (at) fastpitchwest (dot) com, and indicate if you wish to remain anonymous, and/or whether your comments may be posted here.

Update: Wednesday, January 27, 2010:

We have included some readers comments below (see “Read the Rest of this entry” link below too, and click the “View results” button on polls for additional comments posted there).

Short version of reader’s suggestions from today:

1. Top rated teams should book flights that will allow them to remain through the end of the tournament, including the championship game.

Teams should plan their travel to permit them to remain through the end of the tournament
Yes
No
  
pollcode.com free polls

* Note the polls permits you to post comments, after you vote, or view results. We invite you to do so.

2. Earlier start times for games on Sunday should be considered.

Best time for Sunday championship game
8am
9am
10am
11am
12noon
1pm
2pm
3pm
  
pollcode.com free polls

* Note the polls permits you to post comments, after you vote, or view results. We invite you to do so.

The disappointing conclusion to the 2010 AAU International tournament has generated some discussion on the issue – teams skipping the championship game of tournaments to catch flights home, and what to do about it.

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Tahoe City Masters Tournament – 50+ – July 16-17

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

To: INTERESTED TEAMS
Tahoe Masters
July 16, 17 and 18th, 2010
50 and over (NAFA) sanctioned
Tahoe City, Ca
Three game guarantee, Single elimination Sunday
Entry: $450.00
Contact: Ed Yuill/775-742-1001
Ed.Yuill (at) ribeirocorp (dot) com

Masters Fastball News from Ontario & Beyond

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

From Al’s Fastball:

Masters Fastball News from Ontario & Beyond

Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Masters Fastball News
Stoney Creek, Ontario

Check out the Ontario Masters Fastball web site for masters fastball news
from Ontario and beyond.

Ontario Masters Fastball web site : http://eteamz.active.com/omf/

Some recent postings ……….

– Z-Man inducted into Canada’s Softball Hall of Fame

– ISC adds master’s division starting in 2010 in Midland Michigan

– 2010 Ontario Master’s Championship returning to Niagara Falls

– 2013 World Masters Games – Torino, Italy

– Fastball player wins Silver at 2009 World Masters – Sydney, Australia

– 1970 London Cable National Champions – YouTube video

Please send me any Masters related results, stories, photos etc. I’m always looking for people of interest
to fill out the “Masters of the Game” questionnaire.

Dave Birnie
Web Site Administrator
Ontario Masters Fastball
Website : http://eteamz.active.com/omf/
E-mail : dbirnie(at)cogeco(dot)ca
E-mail : ontariomasters(at)hotmail(dot)com

Support Youth Fastpitch

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

From Al’s Fastball:

Boy’s Fastpitch-USA

01/26/10
Young Men’s Fastpitch contacts

I am collecting information pertaining to next summer’s ASA Young
Men’s National Softball Tournament at Rolla, Missouri.
It’s scheduled for August 4-8, 2010.

I am not connected with Rolla Parks or ASA…..but if dads and men’s
players don’t start stepping up and getting involved our sport will
be gone as we know it in less than a decade.

Please send me your name, email/phone number, your boy’s fastpitch
team name, and the age groups you plan on playing.
I will share the information with everyone (and Rolla)……this
should help us with recruiting teams.

Please share this email with any friends or interested parties.
I would love to add them to a “Young Men’s Fastpitch” e-mail list I am building

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
Eric Lewis
NW Royals Fastpitch
10 and Under Boys
12 and Under Boys

elewis (at) winston.k12.mo.us
Winston Missouri

Google chrome browser update – version 4.0

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

If you are a user of the Google chrome browser, you’ll want to download the latest update, version 3.6. It represents a major revision, with a number of new features and improvements, including “extensions” (Add-on features and functionality, like the Firefox browser has), and “bookmarks” allowing the synchronization of bookmarks across multiple computers.

To update your Google chrome browser, simply click the “wrench” icon in the upper right-hand corner, then the “About Chrome” selection from the drop-down menu, and the “OK” button to install the latest update.

If you don’t have Google chrome browser, but want to try it out, you can download it for free here.

57th Annual Blue Gray Invitational Tournament

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Blue & Gray Softball Association
Montgomery, Alabama
Presents The 57th Annual Fast Pitch
Invitational Softball Tournament

Date: June 11, 12 & 13, 2010
Place: Lagoon Park Softball Complex
Mail Entries To: Robert E. Gray
2843 Trotters Trail
Wetumpka, Al 36093
Phone: (334) 567-9797 h
(334) 399-4473 cell
E-Mail Address : Rgray77271 (at) Aol.Com

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