TC's Shrift picked for Team Michigan
TRAVERSE CITY (April 1) — Alison Shrift of Traverse City was one of 17 players chosen to represent the state on the Team Michigan hockey squad.
Shrift made the team after tryouts at the Summit Ice Arena in Lansing. The squad will be competing against teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota at the Chicago College Showcase Tournament.
Shrift was a captain for the Gaylord Enforcers' state championship U-19 team that also won the Little Caesars League title at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit with a win over Kentwood, the same team the Enforcers defeated to win the team's fourth straight state crown.
North Stars drop season finale, 4-2
MARQUETTE (April 2) — Marquette scored two third period goals to beat the Traverse City North Stars 4-2 in a North American Hockey League game at Lakeview Arena.
It was the season finale for the North Stars, who finished 19-38-5.
Play Ball!
DETROIT (April 3) — Don't count Jeff Chimner and his son Jonathan among the born-again Detroit Tigers fans who rediscovered their love for baseball last summer.
The Chimners never lost faith, not even through the Tigers' wretched stretch of 12 straight losing seasons from 1994-2005. That's what made the team's surprise run to the 2006 American League championship so much more enjoyable.
"We were on the bandwagon before the bandwagon had wheels," Jeff Chimner said prior to the Detroit Tigers' 5-3 season opening loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park. "We've always been fans, win or lose."
Jonathan Chimner, who plays second base and outfield for TC West, said he expects the Tigers to have another successful season, but he fell short of predicting a championship.
"I hope they do," he said. "I don't know if they will, though."
Prep sports seasons to change
TRAVERSE CITY (April 3) — For Anne Perry, the day finally came.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced that it will switch six sports seasons in the Lower Peninsula after the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal in a long-simmering legal case. The changes will take effect in the fall.
The Supreme Court let stand a lower court decision that the MHSAA's scheduling discriminates against girls.
As a result, girls basketball will move from fall to winter and girls volleyball from winter to fall. In addition, girls and boys golf and tennis will flip-flop seasons, which will put more girls sports in preferable seasons.
"This should have been done a long time ago," said Perry, the gender equity coordinator for Traverse City Area Public Schools. "It's what's right for girls. It's what's right for our society."
Bums sign speedy outfielder
TRAVERSE CITY (April 4) — The Traverse City Beach Bums filled their need for speed by signing former University of Cincinnati center fielder LaFringe Hayes.
Hayes, who runs the 60-yard dash in an impressive 6.5 seconds, batted .279 and had an on-base percentage of over .360 during his senior season in 2006.
The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Hayes hit .343 as a junior.
The leadoff hitter swiped 22 bases in 27 attempts during his two-year career with the Bearcats. He also had 21 doubles, 12 triples, three home runs, 52 RBI and scored 87 runs.
Group promotes character, sportsmanship
TRAVERSE CITY (April 5) — There's more to winning than merely outscoring the opposition.
That's a philosophy Jack Taylor's been preaching for years.
Taylor, a former coach and administrator, believes strongly in character building and sportsmanship.
That's why three years ago he helped organize Beyond the Scoreboard — a group of area coaches, parents and volunteers whose mission is to foster those values that Taylor says are deteriorating in sports today.
"It's become cut throat," Taylor said. "There's a win- at-all-cost mentality.
"We want to redefine winning. We believe deserving to win is a higher goal than winning itself — that there's more to it than just the scoreboard."
Beyond the Scoreboard has been making inroads in the Petoskey area. Now, the group is reaching out to coaches, parents and athletes in the Grand Traverse area.
Bums sign ex-Braves farmhand
TRAVERSE CITY (April 5) — Former Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Josh Ward has signed to play for the Traverse City Beach Bums this summer.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound righthander was 1-3 with a 4.70 earned-run average in 23 innings for the Class A Danville (Va.) Braves last season. He walked nine and struck out 19 in 14 appearances, helping the Braves win the Appalachian (Rookie) League title.
Ward, who turned 21 on April 1, has a career 3.81 ERA in 49.2 innings of professional baseball. He has walked 16, struck out 35 and has allowed only two home runs in his pro career.
Ward is expected to compete for the role of set-up man on the Beach Bums pitching staff, which returns its entire five-man starting rotation.
Waning places in Junior Olympics
WINTER PARK, Colo. (April 6) — Glen Lake fifth grader Thomas Waning had five top-75 finishes in the USSA Rocky and Central J4 Junior Olympics last month.
His top finish was 59th in the first of two giant slalom races. He was 75th in the other.
Waning, son of Michael and Dawn Waning, scored two 66th-place finishes in slalom and was 75th in Super G.
The event featured 160 of the fastest 11-13-year-old racers from 18 states, including the central and southern Rockies and the Midwest.
Beach Bums hire groundskeeper
TRAVERSE CITY (April 6) — The Traverse City Beach Bums have added Chris Fahrner to their staff as head groundskeeper.
Fahrner comes to the Beach Bums after being manager of the grounds for the Oakland Athletics AAA affiliate Sacramento River Cats from 2004-2006.
A Michigan native, Fahrner earned his Bachelor's of Science in Turfgrass Management from Michigan State University before beginning a career working on baseball fields. Fahrner got his start with internships in Grand Rapids for the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2000, and then in Detroit for the Detroit Tigers in 2001 where he studied under current Tigers groundskeeper Heather Nabozny.
In the summer of 2002, Fahrner was named the head groundskeeper of the Class A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and moved on to become the head groundskeeper of the Class A Delmarva Shorebirds in 2003. Fahrner was supervisor of the entire athletic complex for the University of New Mexico in 2004.
TC skates away with state medals
BLOOMFIELD HILLS (April 7) — The Combined Traverse City High School figure skating team placed fifth overall in a field of 14 Level B squads at state championships held at the Detroit Skating Club.
Traverse City was third in spins, fourth in jumps and 10th in moves. TC was just three points behind Detroit-Mercy and Plymouth/Canton, which tied for first.
Representing the team at state were Ivy Hutchison, Elizabeth Roach, Amanda Shoemaker and Mara Thompson.
In the individual competition, Shoemaker was second in the silver tango dance, Thompson third in the juvenile free skate and Roach seventh in the intermediate free skate.
Coached by Ann Manning, the team represents skaters from TC West, Central and St. Francis.
Bums sign former Philadelphia pick
TRAVERSE CITY (April 10) — The Traverse City Beach Bums signed former Philadelphia Phillies' draft pick Sam Orr.
An infielder, Orr was an eighth round selection of the Phillies in 2004 out of NAIA school Biola University.
The Bellflower, Calif. native played two seasons in the Phillies' farm system. In 2005, Orr hit .222 in 129 games with the Class A Lakewood Blue Claws of the South Atlantic League. He tied for second on the team with 12 home runs.
Orr was a first team NAIA All-American as a sophomore, hitting .407 with 24 home runs and 74 RBIs.
Orr will be the second highest draft pick to play for the Beach Bums, trailing only current teammate David Beigh, a second round pick out of high school in the 2000 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Two earn Team Michigan spots
TRAVERSE CITY (April 11) — Team Michigan will have a little northern Michigan flavor.
The squad comprised of 20 senior high school players from around the state includes Traverse City West left wing Sean Burke and Gaylord defenseman Will Weber, who were the co-captains on the Record-Eagle's Dream Team.
Burke led TC West with 45 points (16 goals) in 27 games and was plus-30, while Weber had 38 points (18 goals) and was plus-22.
The team will practice together then compete in the Chicago Showcase, facing Illinois, North Dakota and Pittsburgh.
Calderwood the new voice of the Bums
TRAVERSE CITY (April 12) — Tim Calderwood has been named director of media and broadcasting for the Traverse City Beach Bums.
Calderwood succeeds Chad Cooper, who took a job in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization.
For the past three years Calderwood has served as the sports information director and play-by-play announcer at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. The past two summers he has worked in collegiate summer baseball.
Calderwood, who hails from the Chicago area, also served as a broadcast intern with the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League.
In addition, he interned with the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) and the Chicago Rush (Arena Football).
Constant steps down
TRAVERSE CITY (April 13) — Jon Constant is stepping down after 22 years as the Traverse City Central's boys basketball coach.
"It's something that has been in the back of my mind since last year," Constant said. "When you start feeling like that, maybe it's time.
"I've had a wonderful career here. I had a great experience being in charge of this program. There's nothing quite like it (coaching basketball). I was able to live my dream. I have memories that will last a lifetime."
Constant, 57, coached basketball for 34 years in Traverse City — six years with the freshmen, six with the junior varsity and 22 with the varsity.
The Trojans won 68 percent of their games under Constant, who leaves with a 341-161 record.
Bums sign ex-Seattle prospect
TRAVERSE CITY (April 13) — The Traverse City Beach Bums signed former Mariners prospect C/1B Curtis Ledbetter.
Ledbetter, a native of Lawrence, Kansas, was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection and was an 18th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners as a red-shirt senior in 2005, six rounds ahead of former Bums catcher Kevin Gergel, also a Mariners selection that year.
That season Ledbetter, 25, helped the Cornhuskers to a 57-14 record and a fifth-place finish in the College World Series while batting .319 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 RBIs.
After being drafted by Seattle, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Ledbetter hit .311 with nine doubles, four home runs and 22 RBIs in only 122 at-bats for the Mariners' Gulf Coast League team.
Ledbetter is projected to be an everyday player in the Beach Bums lineup while splitting time at catcher, first base and designated hitter.
Blues rout NMU 45-7
TRAVERSE CITY (April 16) — The Traverse Bay Blues Rugby Club opened their season with a 45-7 victory over Northern Michigan University.
Led by the family defensive efforts of Creighton, Elliott and Jordan Gallagher and Mike and Ben Amon, the Blues held the Moosemen scoreless until the final 10 minutes.
Griffin Benson led all scorers with 11 points (4 conversions and 1 penalty kick). Try (5 points each) scorers for the Blues were Dan Bruce, Dave Wenkle, Mike Amon, Jim Kehrer, Matt Maritz and Steve Wilkerson, who scored twice while earning man of the match honors.
TC Central nets Up North tourney title
TRAVERSE CITY (April 18) — Traverse City Central won four flights en route to capturing the six-team Up North Invitational.
The Trojans finished with 33 points. Traverse City West was second with 28, followed by Petoskey (25), Ludington (15) and the Central JV (15) and Alpena (4).
Doug Burke paced the Trojans, beating Petoskey's Austin Lo 6-4, 6-4 in the finals at No. 1 singles. Both are sophomores.
The Trojans won three of the four doubles flights. Jamie Olson and Spencer Powell beat West's Nathan Feenstra and Vikash Pillay 6-2, 6-3 in the finals at No. 1. Michael Leigh and David Noble upended the JV's Spencer Engler and Ryan Thompson 6-4, 6-2 for the championship at No. 3. Jeff Byl and Glover Koech downed Petoskey's Scott Lamont and Mike Swabash 6-0, 6-2 for the title at No. 4.
Petoskey's Dan Nellis and Jason Muller claimed No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Nellis defeated Central's Ethan Weckstein 6-1, 6-0 in the finals while Muller topped West's Josh Peterson 6-2, 6-2.
Passinault filling out his staff
TRAVERSE CITY (April 19) — Much of Traverse City Central's coaching staff is in place, but most of the specific spots have yet to be determined.
New head coach Tom Passinault has hired two former Grand Rapids-area coaches as assistants at TC Central.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central defensive coordinator Jim Galvin will perform the same job for the Trojans, and Grand Rapids West Catholic interim head coach Bruce Ford will also be an assistant.
Passinault also said he is retaining five assistants from last year's team — Aaron Biggar, Paul Bonaccini, Doug Gle, Mike Gle and Eric Schugars. He did not specify what positions they'll coach. Passinault said he would likely hire one more coach.
League approves expansion
TRAVERSE CITY (April 20) — The suddenly ever-changing landscape of high school conferences continues to ebb and flow as schools switch their affiliations.
Manistee Catholic Central and Big Rapids Crossroads Academy are two of the latest schools to join the fray. The two will become members of the Western Michigan D League starting next season.
Bear Lake was the final school board to approve the changes, voting in favor of the additions at its board meeting.
Manistee Catholic was an independent in everything but football for the past decade. The Sabers also looked into joining the Northwest Conference, but decided the smaller D league was a better fit.
Holton, Hesperia and White Cloud — members of the rapidly dissolving Western Waterways Activities Conference — also asked to join the Western Michigan D, but wanted to come in as a group. The league was only willing to take on Hesperia, so all three schools decided not to join.
Announcement at Earth Day swim
TRAVERSE CITY (April 21) — The cameras will be rolling when ultra-marathon swimmer and tri-athlete Jim Dreyer launches his two-year Great Lakes Preservation Tour — which will include an attempt at swimming the Great Lakes basin from Minnesota to New York — with a short Earth Day swim in West Bay.
Dreyer, who swims for charity causes, nearly died last August in the Straits of Mackinac. This time around he's spotlighting concerns like pesticide runoff and heavy metals pollution during a series of 2007 short swims in Lake Michigan ports.
A film crew will follow in his wake, shooting footage for a documentary, "Before the Autumn Gales." The mammoth basin swim will happen next summer.
Par 3 Shootout going on hiatus
GAYLORD (April 24) — Fred Couples will have to wait quite awhile to defend his Par-3 Shootout title.
The Par-3 Shootout, an annual tournament in northern Michigan that has featured golfers such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson, has been canceled for this summer but will resume in 2008, tournament officials said.
Organizers secured permission from the PGA Tour to take a one-year break to work out a multiyear sponsorship agreement for the Par-3 Shootout, held at Treetops Resort.
Beach Bums sign utility man Brown
TRAVERSE CITY (April 28) — The Traverse City Beach Bums have signed former Butler University utilityman Jeff Brown.
Brown played five seasons for the Bulldogs. As a red-shirt senior in 2006, he batted .295 with 12 doubles, four home runs and 27 RBIs.
Bums officials said Brown can play any position and will compete for time in the infield and outfield. He had a fielding percentage of .963 last spring, committing 11 errors in 295 chances.
McBain's Bazuin selected by Bears
MCBAIN (April 29) — Dan Bazuin wasn't nervous. He didn't have time to be.
The Central Michigan University football standout, awaiting a call from an NFL team, spent most of the day greetings friends, neighbors and former teammates, teachers and coaches inside his uncle Roger Bazuin's spacious barn.
There were TVs set up in different locations and a big screen TV on the far wall, but Bazuin wasn't monitoring the proceedings very closely. For one thing, the first round of the draft was being broadcast and Bazuin was expected to go in the second or third round (he was eventually chosen by the Chicago Bears with the 62nd pick). For another thing, his time was taken up with autographs, handshakes, picture taking and reminiscing.
Bazuin, a 2002 McBain graduate, was enjoying himself and so was everybody in attendance.
The draft-day party was the Bazuin family's way of saying thank you to the McBain community and acknowledging the role that Dan's upbringing as a local farm boy has played in his development as a person and as a football player.
People from the community came out en masse to let Dan know they are proud of him and behind him as he embarks on his NFL journey.
Snowbirds win title
TRAVERSE CITY (April 29) — Led by the pitching of all-tournament selections Andy Buroyiak and Rob Delong, Gaylord St. Mary won the inaugural Beach Bums Division 3 & 4 Invitational baseball tournament at Wuerfel Park.
The Snowbirds defeated Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 6-2, then edged Traverse City St. Francis 6-5 in the title game.
St. Mary's infielder Bryan Cook was also named to the all-tournament team.
St. Francis defeated Lake Leelanau St. Mary's 9-6 in the opener on a three-run triple by Parker Prusick in the sixth inning. Prusick also had a single in the contest.
Justin Wojtkowiak singled, doubled and batted in a run for the Gladiators (4-5-1).
The Eagles' Matt Pasch went 3-for-3 with a double and a triple.
Lake Leelanau St. Mary's defeated Sacred Heart 11-9 in the consolation game.
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