Getting Ready for Baseball

Spring is definitely in the air which means it’s close to baseball time. Our local leagues are gearing up and they can use your help to make the 2008 season great.>

Rockville Express

The Rockville Express is the defending champion team of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. Players are recruited from premier colleges and live with local volunteer host families during the summer. You could host from June 1st to August 3rd and really be part of the action. Hosts provide a clean and pleasant environment for sleeping, meals, and access to laundry equipment. Players are a great role models for children. Several former players have been drafted into Major League Baseball!

The team has added two new sponsors, Commerce Bank and Woodfin Suites Hotel. The Rockville Branch of Commerce Bank has been providing banking services for the team. Woodfin Suites will be providing special guest rates for families, friends, scouts, and college coaches. Businesses interested in receiving information on this great opportunity to sponsor the team should contact the Express.

With the unanimous support of Rockville Community Baseball, Inc., James Pereira has just been hired as the new manager for the 2008 season, which consists of 40 games and playoffs. His professional career includes scouting for the Cincinnati Reds in the Northeast and Canada, working as assistant coach for two teams in the Cape Cod Summer Baseball League, and serving as pitching coach at Curry College in MA.

Rockville Baseball Association (RBBA)

Rockville Baseball Association (RBBA) fields teams for players from first grade all the way to twelfth grade. They are also in need of local businesses and organizations to sponsor the league and teams. The opening ceremony is fast approaching and will be held at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 12 at Dogwood Park.

All this preparation means that very soon we will hear two famous words. “Play ball!”

Take Me Out to the Ballgame Benefit

>In 2007 Rockville Express had an awesome year of baseball! In case you missed it, they had a record nine straight regular season victories. Then after winning 4 of the 5 championship series games, they earned the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate League title. No small feat since the League has been attracting first-rate players from around the Country since it started in 2005.

The team plays at Montgomery College’s Rockville campus and they need to install new ball field lights, so they will be dedicating the funds raised at their Annual Rockville Express Collegiate Baseball Benefit to this project. You can join Rockville Community Baseball to support our local team on Thursday, January 24, 2008 from 6 PM – 10 PM at Glenview Mansion.

Two very special guests are expected. Jim Riggleman is the Seattle Mariners Bench Coach and was formerly the manager of the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs. But when he was younger, he started out right here as a RBBA player. He’s also a Richard Montgomery High Alum so some of you may know him. He will be joined by University of Maryland alum, Tim Kurkjian, of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight and Sports Center. In the past he’s worked for Sports Illustrated and the Baltimore Sun.

The event is being catered by O’Briens Pit Barbeque. There will also be an auction, with a chance to win East and West Coast vacations, tickets to sporting events, memorabilia, youth baseball lessons, and much more. Tickets are $100. You can purchase them in advance or on the night of the event.

Rockville Community Baseball is a nonprofit group that works to build a community partnership for improving and maintaining youth baseball facilities in Rockville and the surrounding areas, as well as operate the Rockville Express baseball team.

For more information contact General Manager James Kazunas at jameskazunas@verizon.net

Thanks to Brenda Dunham of Eye On The Ball photography for the photos! She’s the photographer for the Express and RBBA.

Magruder Players Injured

> This from USA Today. Our Fair City has achieved national notoriety.

Postgame sportsmanship:

Three Magruder High (Rockville, Md.) football players received minor cuts to their hands after their 55-7 win against Blake (Silver Springs, Md.) on Friday. A Blake player, not in uniform, used a box cutter to slash the players during postgame handshakes, Magruder High officials say. Montgomery County police are investigating.

According to WUSA, there’s a suspect:

Witnesses told [the news] . . . crew that police detained a suspect, and that the suspect sat on Blake’s bench during the game but was not wearing a uniform.

I hope the Magruder boys’ hands heal up without a hitch.

(Image DesignNotes)

POTD: Fore!

>It’s not a golf ball on a tee . . . it’s a mushroom! Thanks to RC friend Charlie Gilak for this one. Got a cool photo? Send us a note and maybe it will be a Picture of The Day!

Serenity, Sweat and Wish Fulfillment in Rockville

> I admit I’m one of those people who gets a high from exercise. Since grade school running, hiking, dance, aerobics, stepping, biking, pilates, or swimming has factored into my life to lift my spirits and tone my form. But two years ago I found food for my mind, body and soul like nothing I’d ever experienced before — it’s called Bikram Yoga. With studios all over the world, we are fortunate enough to have our very own Rockville studio owned and run by Diana Kang.

POTD: Twilight Run

>Some runners from Saturday night’s annual Twilight Run, which goes right by my house. Why is the photo so bad? It was nighttime, silly!

Basketball in Rockville

Did you know Rockville has its own professional basketball team? Neither did I, but that is because I live under a rock. It’s called the Maryland Nighthawks and the team has >recently joined the Premier Basketball League.

The PBL says it “will not only offer fans affordable sports entertainment, but will also re-establish the fan-player bond that was once the foundation of professional athletics.” It markets itself as an antidote to the high-price, high-glitz world of the NBA.

The best part? The Nighthawks play right down the street at Montgomery College!

Oh, one other thing. The Nighthawks are a bona fide World Record team:

Maryland achieved a Guinness Book world record by starting the tallest lineup in the history of basketball. The lineup included 7’9″ Sun Ming Ming, 7’7″ former Washington Bullet Gheorghe Muresan, 7’1″ Ayo Adigun, 7’0″ Deng D’Awol, and 6’8″
Barry Mitchell.

The season’s over, but I plan to see a few games when it comes back around.