I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the start of the "Get Outdoors and Be Creative!" summer program sponsored by the Healthy York County Coalition.
We went out with Sarah this past weekend and found two more of the 30 creativity stations that are spread across York County.
I took a couple of snapshots. Can you tell me at which park or trail these were taken? If so, e-mail me at cotto@ydr.com.
So while watching a plethora of Michael Jackson videos on MTV today (side note: I haven't seen that many videos since, oh, about 1992) "Jam" came on, which I had totally forgotten about.
I don't really think the song is especially good, but the video featuring Michael Jordan is hilarous. Especially Jordan trying to dance at the end.
Plus you get bonus Heavy D and Kris Kross.
This would be my personal favorite right here, but "Beat It" is a close second - and this is of course without taking any of the Jackson 5 stuff into account. The unforgettable lead in, plus Eddie Van Halen equals good stuff. Enjoy.
And this would pull up as a close third. I even like the Alien Ant Farm version.
Daily Record/Sunday News Penn State writer Frank Bodani is a Pittsburgh fan in most sports. In fact, he even wrote a recent column explaining this.
So, to help celebrate Frank's 40th birthday, his wife Shelly Bodani had this cake made for him and delivered it to the newsroom.
The cake is a close replica of the 1971 Roberto Clemente baseball card and staff photographer Jason Plotkin was kind enough to get a picture for us.
The work is outstanding ............... and delicious.
A couple of weeks ago, the Capital Athletic Conference submitted its All-Academic team, which I wrote a story about York College leading the way with the number of athletes on the list.
While thinking about the Spartan success in the classroom, I recalled a conversation I had in 2006 with York women's basketball coach Betsy Witman, shown below coaching her team against Baruch during the NCAA Division III tournament.
At the time, Witman's squad had finished second in the nation -- the Spartans were first in 2004-05 -- academically and like any coach she was hopeful that success would carry over to the court.
"We know we are smart," Witman said. "We have proven it now for how many years? Let's win a championship. Why can't we do both "
Well, this season York had 13 of its players on the CAC All-Academic list and on the floor won the CAC regular season title, plus made it to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16, finishing with a 27-3 record.
Congratulations coach Witman you reached your goal.
Ok, while Franklin & Marshall is in Lancaster and Caitlin Elfring is from Glen Rock New Jersey, not Pennsylvania, what the softball first baseman did is still nothing short of amazing.
Elfring did not strikeout all season.
That's right, no whiffs all season, which is simply an amazing stat in fastpitch softball where 60-plus mile per hour pitches come at you from less than 50-feet away.
Just finishing her junior season with the Diplomats, Elfring appeared in 35 games - 34 starts - with 78 at bats. On June 23, she was named the NCAA Division III's toughest to strike out.
Also, after making just one error in more than 190 chances, she is pretty good with the glove too.
We are in the middle of rolling out the all-stars and the answers to the first two blog teasers were revealed as Susquehannock's Dakota Heath and Kennard-Dale's Hana Krechel.
My last post was correctly answered, but I think I gave too much away. So let's see who can come up with this one:
Question: What is something you remember from first grade?
Answer: I remember winning my first spelling bee. I even remember the winning word, which was book.
Question: What are three items you would take with you to a deserted island?
Answer: A jersey, a football, and my track spikes.
Question: If you were in charge of picking a new mascot for your school, what would you pick?
Answer: Probably a tiger. Tigers are really fierce and they're the king of the jungle after lions, so I would go with the Tigers.
Ahhh, there's nothing like watching a bunch of 7- and 8-year-olds play baseball.
Sure, they don't hit as far, catch as good or throw to the right base like major leaguers do (supposed to anyway), but I'll take watching these kids over forking over a week's pay to sit in the nosebleed section of an MLB park anyday.
My son finished his third season with the Spring Grove Little League Assoc. today, and I have to commend and thank his coaches for giving their time. As a former coach, I know how hard it can be to juggle family with coaching responsibilities. And this particular group of coaches really made the season enjoyable for my son.
So here's a big shoutout to coach Tony Miller and all his assistants.
Have you thanked a volunteer today?
Even an hour after the West squad in which he was the offensive line coach for lost 37-22, West York coach Ron Miller couldn't say enough good things about his experience at the East-West All-Star Game.
"I made relationships that will stay with me forever," Miller said via telephone from Mansion Park in Altoona, site of the game. "I worked with some good football coaches."
Miller, shown below congratulating one of the state champion Thomas Jefferson players after the District 7 team knocked off his Bulldogs in the PIAA Class AAA semifinal.
He got to coach some of the TJ kids and was particularly impressed with Pat Hagen, the 6-6, 275-pound offensive lineman that will play at West Virginia.
"That kid we will watch on Sundays," he said. "They are great kids too."
It wasn't just the football people that impressed Miller either. He raved about Sheryl Ebersole, who works for the Blair County Visitors Bureau and runs the East-West game.
"I never met anyone like that," Miller said of Ebersole. "It was amazing. She deserves a shout-out."
The Associated Press felt the need to let the world know that Manny Ramirez has a cold.
Is this really necessary? Do we care? Do you care?
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Manny Ramirez is not feeling well.
The suspended slugging outfielder has apparently caught a bug that's been going around the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Manager Joe Torre says Ramirez has a cold and is running a slight fever. Torre says he had a brief bout with laryngitis recently.
Ramirez is serving a 50-game suspension for violating baseball's drug rules.
The Dodgers have not settled on a date for Ramirez to begin his 10-day rehab assignment before he is scheduled return on July 3 at San Diego. Torre said that should be determined by the end of the week.
Due to an unfair advantage (the ability to actually see her room), Noah has taken the high road and not outed the player in my previous post. And readers are inching closer to an answer on my first post.
I actually laughed out loud when I read this next one:
Question: If you were in charge of picking a new mascot for your school, what would you pick?
Answer:The Catfish, the (school name deleted to make it slightly harder) Catfish. The school is close to the river, so Catfish.
Question: Did you have a nickname growing up? If so, how'd you get it?
Answer: Slick. I got it when I younger and when I was playing baseball.
Question: Which would you compete on: American Idol or Dancing With the Stars?
Answer: Dancing With the Stars, because I can move it baby!
While you are trying to figure out who was quoted in my last post, here's some other gems I found from one of our upcoming Player of the Year Q&As.
Question: Are you a clean bedroom person or a messy bedroom person? What would be the first thing that someone would notice upon entering your bedroom?
Answer: Messy bedroom person, my bedroom is a wreck. My mom will hate that that's in the paper. The first thing someone would notice would be my posters of Orlando Bloom and the All-American Rejects.
Question: What sport are you the absolute worst at?
Answer: Softball. Whenever we play in gym, I just swing and miss.
Hint: This athlete and the athlete quoted before play the same sport.
There really is nothing better than a golfing on a nice summer day.
But, there's really nothing more frustrating than golfing on a nice summer day.
After a two-year absence from the links, I've determined that this summer is the season I get my golf game in order. My goal is to consistently hit a 95 by the end of this summer.
I know, not the loftiest of goals, but hear me out.
Talk about perspective, even for a sports reporter who has lived and breathed sports for more than four decades.
As a lifelong fan of the Detroit Red Wings (I grew up in Detroit and hockey is my favorite sport), the last 15 years have been a lot of fun.
Still, that doesn't mean that I was ready for my most beloved of all sports teams to relinquish its crown to a young up-and-coming team just yet.
However in Games 6 and 7 against the highest of pressure, the Pittsburgh Penguins simply proved they wanted it more -- thus earning the Stanley Cup in the process.
I felt this thing slip away when the Wings didn't put the Pens away in Game 6, something Detroit always has done in its recent history.
On Friday night when Pittsburgh scored its second goal to open a 2-0 lead, I knew it was over.
But a funny thing happened.
You see, I have two children and while my 6-year-old son Andrew (also an avid Red Wings fan) was watching with me in calm disbelief, my daughter Alexis, who will turn three in August, was making a commotion.
She had one of her babies and was putting the doll on the bottom step heading upstairs, which is where Alexis is forced to sit when she isn't behaving properly.
Alexis yelled at this baby. "I told you to sit on the step baby. You are on time out. Don't move."
She said this a couple of times and when I finally realized what she was doing I laughed -- very hard. I looked over at Andrew, he smiled -- very brightly.
All of a sudden my beloved, but crashing Red Wings just didn't seem so important after all.
Thank you Alexis (and baby).
The second day of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix was held Friday and the following York YMCA swimmers had success:
Caleb Tuten finishing 21st in the men's 400 individual medley (4:37.64), Chris Kramer, 26th in the same event (4:40.95).
The women's 400 Free Relay team of Sada Stewart, Hali Flickinger, Sarah Dotzel and Julia Kucherich placed 19th with a time of 4:02 56.
Thanks to my friend Gerry Kucherich (Julia's father) for sending me these updates.
The above location at Gifford Pinchot State Park is the site of one of the 30 creativity stations that can be found across York County as part of the "Get Outdoors and Be Creative!" summer program.
Our family spent some time this week doing some letterboxing in York County, as the "Get Outdoors and Be Creative!" summer program from the Healthy York County Coalition officially kicked off on June 6. It's a sequel to last year's popular "Catch the Activity Bug" program, which had kids and their parents rustling through bushes and shrubberies to find those elusive ant and spider stamps.
Information about this year's program can be found at www.goyork.org, and the necessary book and materials for the program can be picked up at any branch of the York County Library System. Once again, there are 30 locations (called "creativity stations") to be discovered within York County's parks and kids have three months to find as many as possible and become eligible for a grand prize in October.
This morning, we were at two different locations at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Nine-year-old Sarah plowed ahead of us on the trails, clip-clopping in a fashion that would make King Arthur and Patsy proud. We read about Pinchot Park's history, the reverting of the farm fields that were once located there and how to recognize different types of trees in the ecosystem, such as the eastern red cedar, white oaks and, of course, the larch.
And -- success -- we found both creativity stations, meaning we're already 10 percent finished (3 of 30 stations).
There's much fun ahead again this summer, with this excellent program for kids and families.
Yummy octopus chili.
In honor of the whole octopi-throwing tradition at Joe Louis Arena, I took the liberty of searching the web to find the best way to cook octopus.
According to ehow.com, turn it inside out and take out the stomach sack. Turn it back and remove the beak, which is located in the middle of the tentacle. Wash.
Tenderize your octopus by boiling it over low heat for an hour and a half.
Six swimmers from the York YMCA are competing at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix, which began Thursday evening.
Two swam during the opening evening, 14-year-old Hali Flickinger finished an impressive 13th overall in the women's 1,500 yard freestyle with a time of 17:28.94.
In the men's competition, Chris Kramer, 18, swam the 800 free in 8:38.06, which was good enough for 30th place.
The Daily Record/Sunday News will unveil the spring all-stars starting June 21. Here's a tiny morsel from one of our player of the year Q&A's to whet your appetite.
Think you can figure out who is quoted below? Take your best guess in the comment section . . . And be sure to check out GameTimePA.com starting June 21 to read the full Q&As, plus all the all-star capsules.
Question: If you were in charge of picking a new mascot for your school, what would you pick?
Answer: I'd pick a bear. There aren't very many schools with bear nicknames, and bears are pretty cool.
Question: What sport are you the absolute worst at?
Answer: Definitely soccer. I'd be awful at it. I just don't like playing it. I respect that it's a hard sport to play. And I know it takes a lot of skill, but it's just not for me.
The Capital Region girls' basketball teams went 8-0 in the 2009 Summer Slam in Philadelphia this past weekend.
The 14U team beat the Renegades, Comets, LI Lightning, and the Upstate Ladies to go 4-0. The record of the team is now 18-4. Team members are Emily McGowan, Jackie Falconer, Marissa Ness, Hannah Brown, Tiffany Bauer, Savannah Hall, Morgan Klunk, Alex Ross, Ellie Hempt, Victoria Blackburn and Shannon Druck.
The Capital 16U team beat the Phila. Lady Liberty, Albany Capital, KPS Bay Council and the Comets. The record of the team is now 21-1. Team members are Leah Shekletski, Demi Mallios, Leah Hawk, Alex Weakland, Nicole Tamanosky, Senada Mehmdovic, Kate McDonald, Ann Deibert, Katie Early and Rachel Moyer.
Team coaches are Matt Tucci and Dennis Bavaria.
Mothra attacks the Tokyo Tower....
... and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova threatens to crush the Eiffel Tower.
It's been a pretty good week so far for baseball's World Champions (feel free to knock on wood, Phillies fans). And that's pretty good, considering the team suffered a rough blow last week with the loss of its No. 2 starter, Brett Myers.
1. Entering Friday's game, the Phillies had won seven games in a row and built a four-game lead over the hobbled New York Mets in the National League East.
2. The Phillies have an astonishing 20-6 record in road games, far and away the best record in Major League Baseball. The Dodgers are second at 17-12.
3. Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard are both in the NL's top five in home runs and RBIs.
4. Antonio Bastardo, a 23-year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic who is taking Myers' spot in the rotation for now, won his major-league debut on Tuesday, pitching six innings and allowing just one run in a win over the San Diego Padres.
5. J.C. Romero returned from his 50-game suspension to further bolster a strong bullpen.
6. World Series MVP Cole Hamels tossed a 97-pitch shutout in Thursday's 3-0 win over the host Dodgers. Hamels is rounding into form after a slow start. He is 4-0 with a 2.84 ERA over his last seven starts.
7. Former first-round draft pick Kyle Drabek made a strong first start for the Reading Phillies after being promoted to Double-A. He went seven innings, allowing three hits and no runs in Wednesday's win against the Akron Aeros. Drabek might not be too far from seriously challenging for a spot in the Phillies' rotation.
Bob Rhein, the president of the York County Lacrosse Association, did some number-crunching on participation in the sport this spring. (see above chart)
Rhein wrote: "As you will see, our growth in participation for both the boys and the girls (1,959 total) continues to dramatically increase each year. When you take into account the total number of 12th graders who have graduated each year, the increase is even more significant. Please note that since West York and Kennard-Dale did not offer high school boys programs this spring, we lost a significant amount of players from these two programs. It is our hope that both school districts will vote to approve the addition of boy's lacrosse for 2010 to enable our numbers to exceed 2,000 participants."
I was recently helping my mom clean out her basement -- which partially involves going through all of the stuff my grandmother and great-grandmother pack-ratted over the years and stuffed in envelopes and boxes and filing cabinets -- and I stumbled across this postcard from the 1970s.
It's quite a blast from the past, showing three sports complexes in south Philly -- two of which don't exist anyone.
From top to bottom are:
1. John F. Kennedy Stadium, which was originally Philadelphia Municipal Stadium. Among other things, it was the home of the Philadelphia Eagles for a short period in the 1930s and 1940s; the host stadium for the Army-Navy Game from 1936 to 1979; and the site of the American portion of Live Aid in 1985. The stadium was demolished in 1992.
2. The Spectrum, which opened in 1967 and will close its doors forever this fall. It is scheduled for demolition in late 2009 or early 2010. Its most famous tenants, of course, have been the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers. Plus there have been countless concerts, circuses and pro wrestling events held there.
3. Veterans Stadium, which opened in 1971 and was demolished in 2004. Its concrete bowl was the home of the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, among other teams.
Funny what you find in a basement. What memories does this postcard evoke for you?
Bob Lawrence of Spring Grove submitted this photo of his 6-year-old daughter, Ireland, who recently bowled a perfect game -- a 300 -- in Wii Bowling. (Hey, we're committed to covering the entire realm of sports here on The Lineup Card.)
Bob writes: "We know fully what an accomplishment it is to bowl 12 strikes in a row. What just blows us away is that our 6-year-old daughter did it! We videotaped the last few frames, as she was nearing the end. I have enclosed a photo of our daughter posing with her 300."
