Weather Forecast | Weather Maps

By Bill Barrows

 

The Major League All-Star Break has passed. There are less than three weeks left before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. There are many more buyers than sellers at this juncture, because with the two wildcard spots in each league, there are more opportunities to be competitive for the upcoming playoff run. So, teams will be jockeying for position by trying to strengthen their roster of players. The first measure of who continues to be a buyer and who becomes a seller has already started as general managers evaluate whether their team is trending upward or downward.

 

Read more

By Bill Barrows

 

We are all running here and there this time of year. School is out, summer activities are in full swing and the weather has finally heated up. My lovely bride is preparing for quilt shows what seems like weekly. In my capacity as a director at the Wabash County Y, I seem to be perpetually on the run between sports events at the Y and the Field of Dreams. 

 

Spring outdoor soccer ended a couple of weeks ago. Y League softball ended last week and travel softball is coming to an end for the spring season this weekend. 

 

Read more

Bill Barrows at the NCAA baseball tourney in Omaha, Neb. Photo provided

 

By Bill Barrows

 

By the time that you read this, the College World Series finals will be in full swing. The CWS is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament—featuring 64 teams in the first round—which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight participating teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket playing in a best-of-three championship series.  I had the privilege of attending this year’s festivities.

 

Since 1950, the CWS has been held in Omaha, Nebraska. It was held at Rosenblatt Stadium, on the south end of town from 1950 through 2010; starting in 2011, it has been held at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, which is a beautiful stadium that is part of the Omaha downtown revitalization project that is ongoing.  “Ameritrade,” as the locals refer to it, is a site to see. The best way to describe it would be to say that it is a homey, modern ballpark steeped in tradition, yet affords the fans the chance to get up close and really enjoy games almost like you would at a local high school game.

 

Read more

By Joseph Slacian

 

Southwood High School graduate Brennan Kelly pitched two innings of scoreless baseball on June 2 to help the Kankakee Community College baseball team capture the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association Division II World Series.

 

Kankakee defeated Mercer County 11-5 in the final game of the double-elimination tourney in Enid, Okla.

 

Read more

By Bill Barrows

 

Amid the intensity and hype of the NBA Finals and the grind of the Major League Baseball season, there is a more innocent level of sports that can be seen all over Wabash County this time of year. The competitors are cutting their teeth on a number of levels and in a variety of sports. Let's take a tour around and understand what goes on.

Read more

By Bill Barrows

     

I was involved in a discussion recently about all time clutch sports moments. The conversation prompted a series of questions about different sports and a variety of opinions on the subject. Actually there were more questions and subjects but I narrowed it down to four.

 

You are the manager of a Major League Baseball team in the World Series and its Game 7. You have to win this one game. Who is your pitcher? This led to a discussion. Current pitcher or of all-time? It was decided that we would span the all time list. A few names were tossed about. Madison Bumgardner of the Giants came to mind. How about Tom Glavine or John Smoltz? What about Bob Feller?  Pedro Martinez pitched in the clutch in World Series competition. How about Don Drysdale in the ‘60s for the Dodgers. Whitey Ford in the ‘50s and early ‘60s with the Yankees? How about Jim Palmer of the Orioles in the ‘60s? 

 

Read more

Harley Kruschwitz (top photo) chips at a hole 4 at the Warsaw Sectional at Rozella Ford Gold Course, while Caleb Kroh prepares to launch a shot for Northfield. Photos by Eric Christiansen

 

By Eric Christiansen

 

Northfield finished fifth, and Manchester was seventh at the Warsaw boys golf sectional to end both teams’ seasons. 

 

Warsaw captured the event shooting 309. Northfield shot 329, while Manchester shot 338.

 

Read more

 

Read more