Sunday, August 17, 2008 Tue DALLAS POST PAGE 11e SPORTS BRIEFS Girls can play softball in fall Girls ages 11 and younger are invited to sign up to play in the Back Mountain Little League Girls Softball Fall League. Games are played on Mondays and Wednesdays. For team and individual information, contact John Pe- rez at 675-8324 or johp- er4@epix.net. Bobcats/ Raiders open 2008 season today The Back Mountain Bobcats and Kingston Township Raid- ers will play against each other in their 2008 youth football season opener today at the Raiders’ home field. The D team plays first at 11 a.m., followed by the C team at 12:15 p.m., the B team at 1:30 p.m. and the A team at 3 p.m. George Appel Golf Tourney is Aug. 22 The Our Lady of Victory Church will hold its 15th An- nual George Appel Memorial Golf Tournament and Basket | Raffle on Friday Aug. 22, at the Mill Race Golf Resort, Benton. Registration and lunch will be from 11 a.m. until the noon shotgun start. Cost is $75 per golfer which includes green fees, cart, lunch and a post- tournament dinner with hors d'oeuvres and open bar at the OLV Church hall, starting with a social warm-up at 5 p.m. There will also be a raffle, featuring a golf bag, basket of wine, several liquor party bags and flight prizes for golfers. Additionally, there will be drawings for a basket of cheer, basket of wine, an autographed Dennis Bonvie Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Penguins hockey stick and photo, a coffee and tea basket, a sports basket featur- ing a signed Troy Polamalu Pittsburgh Steelers football card and a signed 8 x 10 Dennis Bonvie Wilkes-Barre /Scranton Penguins picture, a car care basket, a party-picnic basket and a lottery/money tree bas- ket. : Golf tournament sign-ups and tickets can be purchased by calling the church office at 639-1535 by August 14. Gator Golf Tournament is September 13 Gate of Heaven School will conduct its annual Gator Golf Tournament on Saturday, Sept.13, at Mill Race Golf Course, Benton. The goal of the tournament is to raise $5,000 to purchase badly-needed athletic equip- ment and supplies for Gate of Heaven students. The afternoon will begin with lunch at noon followed by a shotgun start at 1 p.m. There will be prizes for closest shot to the pin and longest drive. Din- ner and a prize raffle will follow golfing. The cost of the tournament is $85 per person and $330 per foursome. The tournament is limited to 100 golfers (25 teams). Hole sponsorships are available for donations of $100 to $500. Please make checks payable to “Gate of Heaven Athletics.” For more information, con- tact Mike Tomalis or Theresa Gatusky, 639-5667. @ Basketball league forming at Rock The Rock Recreation Center, 340 Carverton Rd., Trucksville, will host a Fifth and Sixth Grade Boys Fall Basketball League starting Saturday, Sept. 24, and continuing through Saturday, Nov. 1. Cost per team is $125 plus referee fees. For more information, call 696-2769 or e-mail TheRock- RecCenter@bmbha.org. Reliving the sandlot days age boys from Shavertown got to- gether each day and played games of sandlot baseball in a field off Overbrook Road. Thirty years later, they did it again. Organized by Tom Alexander, most of the original 12 players got together re- cently for a reunion game. Many of the players, now grown men, brought their families and played the game in a field above the Back Mountain Little League field on Church Street in Dallas Town- ship. “I didn’t keep in touch with any of these people and it’s great to see them,” said Joe Kubasti, who now lives in Chelmsford, Mass. Kubasti’s young sons, AJ and Adam, also played in the reunion game. The original games were played on property owned by George and Andrea Sordoni of Shavertown. The games were played each day during the summer and on weekends when school started in the fall. “We had a lot of fun that summer,” said Alexander, who lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He brought his son 11-year-old son Peter to play in the game. “We all had our heroes who we tried to be like — guys like Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Reggie Jackson and Jim Rice.” The reunion game was the first time Peter Alexander experienced sandlot baseball. His father says times — and peo- ple —have changed throughout the years. “Playing games like we played is vir- tually impossible today,” he said. “If someone got hurt, we wouldn't have thought it was anyone else’s fault but our own. That wouldn’t happen today. It’s un- fortunate. We were very lucky to have a family like the Sordonis who let us play I nthe summer 0f 1978, a group of teen- Joe Wateski covers first in a sandlot reunion baseball game on the Back Mountain Little League upper field in Dallas. on their property.” Alexander was hoping to play the re- union game five to 10 years ago, but it never materialized. He made a big push for the reunion game this year after suf- fering a heart attack in January 2006. “My attitude changed after that,” Alex- ander said. “It changed my outlook on things-what’s important and what isn’t. I realized how important those days were to me and I wanted my son to experience it. I also wanted to see the guys again. We won’t wait another 30 years for the next e.” In addition to Alexander and Joe Ku- basti, members of the original sandlot taem and their current hometowns are Mike Kubasti, Normandy Park, Wash.; Eric Cuba, Lancaster; Mike Cuba, York; Steve Menges, New York City; Tim Pap- pas, Wilkes-Barre; Ed Jewell, Dallas and Melbourne, Fla.; and Alan Cuba, Mike Todd, Dave Konopki, Bob Shaffer and Joe Wateski, all of Dallas. A SPOrts CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/FOR THE DALLAS POST Joe Kubasti had some fun running bases during a baseball reunion game in Dallas. Tommy Alexander, far right, congratulates Joe Kubasti, second to right, on his home run hit during a sandlot reunion baseball game. Dive team competes at Keystone Mountaineer Age Group Diving Team, coached by Kim Kuzma, recent- ly competed in the Keystone State Summer Games at Messiah College, Grantham, PA, July 23 and 24. The Summer Games, modeled after the Olympic Games, provide Pennsyl- vania’s amateur athletes with an oppor- tunity to earn gold, silver and bronze medals while competing against the best athletes throughout the Common- wealth. Mountaineer Diving Team compet- ed on both the one meter and three me- ter springboards, bringing home sever- al medals. Members of the Mountaineer Team received the following awards: Made- leine Ross (9 years & under) first on both 1-meter and 3-meter; Matthew Edkins (11 years & under) second on 1-meter and third on 3-meter; Francois Ross (13 years & under) third on 1-me- ter and second on 3-meter; Patrick Ma- daya (13 years & under) fourth on 1- meter; Sarah Zerfoss (15 years & un- der) third on 1-meter and second on 3- meter; Jake Baker (15 years & under) fourth on 1-meter and third on 3-meter; and Morgan Popple (18 years & under) third on 1- meter and first on 3-meter. Mountaineer Age Group Diving Team will enter its fourth year of prac- tice and competition. Winter Diving League practice sessions will form soon for all ages ranging from begin- ners and intermediates to high school divers from different districts. No pre- vious diving experience is needed. An informational flyer will be dis- tributed to students in the Dallas schools in the beginning of October. Athletes from different districts can contact Coach Kim Kuzma at kkuz- ma@dallassd.com for more informa- tion. SUBMITTED PHOTO Members of the Mountaineer Age Group Diving Team who recently competed in the Keystone State Summer Games are, from left, kneeling, Madeleine Ross and Francois Ross. Standing, Jake Baker, Coach Kim Kuzma, Morgan Popple, Sarah Zerfoss and Matthew Edkins. Absent at the time of the photo was Patrick Ma- daya. IREM WOMEN HOLD RALLY FOR THE CURE ROCK SOLID BASKETBALL TEAM FINISHES SEASON AT 28-4 Lub » I b . SS ———— i oi “4 § Irem Women's Golf Association held its ith Annual Rally for TOURNAMENT the Cure Golf Tournament on July 10 featuring more than 100 female golfers from local clubs and leagues. Proceeds from the tournament will be sent to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to aid in the fight against breast cancer. The INGA thanks all local golfers, businesses and individuals who supported their efforts in this worthwhile cause. Winners of the first flight are, from left, Nina Matzoni, Jane Sileski, Karen Belles and Darcy Brodmerkel. The Rock Solid 14-U AAU Basketball Team recently completed its season with a record of 28 wins and four losses, finishing in first place in five of the eight tournaments in which it partici- pated. The team consists of players from Dallas, Hazleton and Wyoming Valley West School Districts. From left, first row, are Tyler Plaska, Ryan Hoinski, Kohner Rice, James McCann and Bobby Saba. Second row, Shane Dunn, Donnie Behm, Jon Gimble, Paul Brace, Travis Buckner and Coach Doug Miller. Absent at the time of the photo was Eugene Lewis.
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