Elks fall in semifinals
BIG RAPIDS (Nov. 1) — As the sun was setting, the underside of the clouds over the soccer field here matched the orange of the Elk Rapids' jerseys.
Bt the final score didn't match what the Elks hoped for.
Grand Rapids South Christian's Ben Kadau snuck a shot inside the far post with 15:01 remaining in the Division 3 state semifinal contest as the Sailors held on for a 3-2 victory over sixth-ranked Elk Rapids.]
TC West advances in district tourney
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 2) — The beat will go on for Traverse City West because the Titans didn't let TC Central get one.
West never allowed Central to get on track until late in the third game and beat the Trojans 25-14, 25-11, 25-19 in a Class A pre-district game.
With the victory, the Titans (28-19) move on to face Marquette in Gaylord. Alpena faces the host Blue Devils in the first semifinal, with the district championship set for later in the evening.
Central Lake holds on
CENTRAL LAKE (Nov. 3) — Central Lake continues to persevere.
The Trojans, despite losing a talented senior class after last season and battling injuries throughout this season, edged Cedarville 21-20 to win a second consecutive Division 8 district football title.
Central Lake (10-1) will play Crystal Falls Forest Park (10-1) in a regional next weekend. Forest Park blanked L'Anse 32-0.
Running star dies pursuing a dream
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 4) — Joe Shay was 10 minutes away from the Michigan International Speedway when he received a phone call that his son Ryan had fallen, hit his head and was being treated at the Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City.
Joe Shay sensed trouble.
"I thought that it had to be pretty bad," said the Central Lake coach, who was taking two runners to the Division 4 state cross country finals. "Ryan would never let something like that (fall) stop him from running in the trials."
Ten minutes later, when his cell phone rang again, Shay's suspicions were confirmed.
Ryan's heart had stopped and medical personnel were trying to revive him.
Joe Shay was in disbelief.
A few minutes later, a cardiologist called.
"He said Ryan had cardiac arrest and didn't recover," Shay said. "He said Ryan probably died before he hit the ground."
Ryan Shay — who won 11 state championships in track and cross country at Central Lake, captured the NCAA 10,000-meter outdoor championships at Notre Dame and was a five-time national road racing champion — was 28.
Autopsy inconclusive
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 5) — An autopsy of elite runner Ryan Shay was inconclusive after the 28-year-old collapsed and died in Central Park at the U.S. men's marathon Olympic trials a day earlier.
"We want to take a closer look at the heart tissue," said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office. She said the office likely would reach a conclusion in a week after examining Shay's tissue on microscopic slides.
Shay collapsed about 5½ miles into the race, and later was pronounced dead at a city hospital.
His father, Joe Shay, told The Associated Press that Ryan was diagnosed with an enlarged heart at age 14. But doctors had repeatedly cleared him for competition, because having a larger than normal heart is not unusual among elite athletes.
Otsego Club to add new terrain park
GAYLORD (Nov. 6) — The Otsego Club & Resort, the country's oldest private ski club, announced the development of its state of the art terrain park and half pipe.
"We are very excited about the improvements at the Otsego Club & Resort," said Michael J. Biber, Managing Partner of Osprey S.A. Ltd, the company which owns the Otsego Club & Resort. "Partnering with a nationally recognized designer like Ryan Neptune and his Planet Team will greatly enhance our winter experience and give our Membership something they will not find at any other ski facility in the Midwest."
The park will feature multiple half pipes for all levels, along with several levels of rails for exciting action.
Semi-pro franchise coming to TC
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 8) — The Boys of Summer may be getting some company.
Former Eastern Michigan University football player Daniel Skibbe has announced the formation of a semi-professional football team in Traverse City that he hopes will begin play in the summer of 2009.
The Traverse City Wolves would be the second minor-league sports team to call Traverse City home, following in the footsteps of the TC Beach Bums independent league baseball team, which opened play in May 2006 at Wuerfel Park.
Skibbe, 33, said he hopes the Wolves can play their home games at either Thirlby Field or Wuerfel Park, although he understands the hurdles he would face at both locations.
Two months, 10 perfect games
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 8) — A perfect 10.
Since the 2007-08 bowling season began in early September, there have been 10 perfect 300 games rolled at Timber Lanes.
Eric Porter bowled the first of the season — his 16th in 21 years — on Sept. 11. It came in the Strike & Spare league.
The second perfect game came just two days later. Kyle Rice, bowling in the Classic league, rolled his fourth career 300 game in 22 years.
One week after Porter's city record 16th perfect game, Dave Tanner bowled his first career 300 game in the Strike & Spare league. Marcus Oien began the month of October with a 300 game in the Monday Majors league. One week later in the same Monday Majors league, Traverse City Bowling Hall of Fame member Rich Antol bowled his fourth perfect 300 game.
Another Hall of Fame member, Mike Griffin bowled his 12th 300 game. The night of Oct. 10 provided Dale Warner the opportunity to throw his first career 300 game. The eighth 300 game of the season was bowled by Len Galla Sr. Galla bowls in the Strike & Spare league and has done so for 42 years.
On the next to last day of October, Porter recorded his 17th perfect game. Don Rautenberg stole the night, though, as he recorded his fourth career 300 game.
Pair finishes race for Shay
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 9) — Ryan Shay wasn't able to finish the marathon he started last Saturday.
So two Traverse City residents decided to complete it for him.
At a vigil for Shay at the Central Lake High School track where visitors were invited to run a lap in honor of the elite runner who collapsed in Saturday's Olympic Trials, Roger and Amanda Send literally went the distance.
Roger, the track and cross country coach at Traverse City Christian, and Amanda, his daughter and a standout senior on the TC Christian cross country team, completed 83 laps on the oval — 20.7 miles — in Shay's honor.
Shay collapsed in New York after 5.5 miles of the 26.2-mile marathon. The Sends finished it.
"I'm sure Ryan would have done the same for a friend of his if the circumstances were switched around," Amanda Send said.
Snowmobile trails will receive grooming
GAYLORD (Nov. 10) — Snowmobile riders in Michigan will find groomed trails this year, despite earlier threats to the contrary.
State officials reached an agreement with the Michigan Snowmobile Association about money from the resale of old equipment initially purchased with the help of state grant dollars. Snowmobile clubs in Michigan contract with the state to take care of the trails system and some threatened to put grooming on hiatus unless the state agreed to give them that cash.
"Many, but not all of them, were not going to sign their contracts and groom," said Bill Manson, MSA executive director. "Now trails will be groomed."
Townsend Mr. Soccer a 2nd time
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 10) — It wasn't too much of a surprise this time around, but Casey Townsend won his second Mr. Soccer award.
When the honor was announced, Townsend became the first Michigan player to win it twice.
"I'm just honored that I got the opportunity to get it twice," Townsend said. "I couldn't have won it without my teammates, so it really goes to them."
Last year, Townsend became the first player from northern Michigan to win the award since TC Central's Anders Kelto in 1996.
"Casey broke down some barriers in that respect," Titans coach Jason Carmien said.
Ideal Iceman?
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 11) — It was an ideal day and fast track at the Iceman, but the not the fastest race in the last few years.
That distinction belongs to the 2005 race when the winner covered the 27 1/2-mile point-to-point course in slightly under an hour-and-a-half.
Brian Matter, from Sheboygan, Wis., covered the distance this year in 1:30:30, the second-fastest finish in the 18-year history of the event. It was his second victory at the Iceman, having previously won it in 2004. He finished about a half-minute ahead of second-place finisher and last year's Iceman champion, Michael Simonson from Oxford. Coloradan Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski placed third, only eight seconds behind Simonson.
Former Michigander Kelli Emmett was once again the women's champion, completing the distance in 1:43.03 and capturing her fifth Iceman, which moves her ahead of Cecilia Potts as the reigning Ice Queen with the most victories. Potts won the event four times from 1995-98, and still holds the record for the most consecutive wins.
Emmett has now won the event three times in a row — this year, 2006 and 2005 — and also won in 2003 and 2000.
Central Lake falls at Dome
MARQUETTE (Nov. 11) — No matter how you look at it, the Trojans were going to be crowned Division 8 regional football champions.
Unfortunately for Central Lake, it was the Trojans from Crystal Falls Forest Park who advanced with a 50-19 triumph inside Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome.
Crystal Falls (11-1) meets Beal City in a state semifinal contest. Central Lake finished 10-2 and won a share of the Ski Valley Conference title.
SAYING GOODBYE
CENTRAL LAKE (Nov. 12) — Ryan Shay ran countless hours along the roads of Antrim County in pursuit of his Olympic dream.
Eight days after Shay's sudden death, hundreds of mourners followed one of Shay's favorite training routes to reach Dunsmore Cemetery near Central Lake, where he was buried as darkness fell.
The 28-year-old Shay, diagnosed with an enlarged heart as a teenager, collapsed and died 5 1/2 miles into the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City on Nov. 3. The cause of death remains undetermined.
"Ryan loved northern Michigan," Shay's father, Joe, said in the days leading up to the funeral.
An estimated 500 mourners, wearing blue-and-gold lapel ribbons embossed with the logo of Notre Dame, Shay's alma mater, attended the memorial at the Harvest Barn Church in East Jordan.
Gaylord's Secord wins Miss Cross Country
GAYLORD (Nov. 13) — Sloan Secord's come a long way.
After finishing in the "26-minute range" in her first meet as a freshman, Secord won the Division 2 state championship in 17:49.7 in her final meet as a senior — earning the state's Miss Cross Country award in the process.
The award is given to the top senior runner at the state meet. Secord edged Rochester's Tiffany Abrahamian for the honor. Abrahamian was clocked at 17:49.8 in the Division 1 meet. Secord's time was fifth best overall.
Secord's performance helped propel the Blue Devils to the state championship.
Elks' Mayes first-team all-state
ELK RAPIDS (Nov. 13) — Aaron Mayes added to his honors.
Mayes, who won a third Lake Michigan Conference title and a second Division 4 regional championship at No. 1 singles, was selected to the Division 4 All-State first team. Mayes was honorable mention last season. The team is picked by the state tennis coaches association.
Mayes, a junior, finished the season 25-3. He beat Grandville Calvin Christian's Brian DeMaagd 6-1, 6-4 in a first-round match in the state finals. He then dropped a 6-4, 6-4 match to No. 5 seed Peter Sienko of Williamston in the second round. Sienko went on to beat No. 4 seed Alex Dombos of Kalamazoo Hackett before losing to top seed and eventual champion C.J. Griffin of Portland.
Mayes owns a career mark of 66-9.
Petoskey's Colburn to be honored
DETROIT (Nov. 14) — Petoskey's Mark Colburn will be one of eight inspirational athletes to be honored by the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness at the inaugural "One in a Million" event in Detroit.
The eight will receive Charles Kuntzleman Awards for having "overcome great challenges" while continuing to pursue physical activity as a part of their daily routines.
Colburn, once a Navy Seal, is now a motivational speaker and life coach. His life was forever changed when in 1997 a parachute jump went tragically wrong — another Seal collided with him and tore his parachute — and he plummeted 3,000 feet to earth. Incredibly, he survived the fall. Colburn was in a coma for a month and in a vegetative state for four months, according to his mother's (Liliane) account on a Web site. After extensive rehabilitation, Colburn gradually recovered and now runs, rides a bike and goes to a gym every day.
Kuntzleman, a former chairman of the Michigan Fitness Foundation, is the author of "They Accepted the Challenge," a book about people who, despite great obstacles, have pursued a life of physical activity.
TC West sends 13 to state finals
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 15) — Traverse City West is going for a little history this weekend.
The Titans will be represented by 13 seeded swimmers in the state finals, including the first time a West relay team has been in the top 16.
West has a pair of relay teams seeded sixth in the Division 1 meet — the 200-meter medley relay and the 200 free relay squads.
The medley relay team of Sarah Brunner, Erin Holstad, Amy Brunner and Jordan Newhouse swam a time of 1:53.06 to qualify for the finals, while the 200 free quartet of Holstad, the two Brunners and Shelby Newhouse had a time of 1:42.11.
West's Prisk steps down
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 15) — Matt Prisk chose family over football.
The only coach in Traverse City West football history announced his retirement from the sidelines. Prisk informed his staff of the decision after the team banquet and told his team the following morning.
The Titans won seven Big North Conference titles in his 11 seasons and qualified for the playoffs in each of the past six years. West was 71-35 during his tenure.
"There's never, ever going to be the right time to leave because of the kids we have here," Prisk said. "For me, and what I wanted to do with my family, this is the right time."
Roeper's rally clips the Comets
BATTLE CREEK (Nov. 16) — The third game proved to be elusive in the Class D volleyball semifinals at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
McBain Northern Michigan Christian took the first two games before Birmingham Roeper ripped off three straight games to advance with a 24-26, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-6 victory. The Comets ended their season at 32-20-4.
The same scenario played out in the second semifinal as Battle Creek St. Philip won the final three games to knock off Crystal Falls Forest Park.
"It was very tough," Northern Christian coach Jay Simon said. "Unfortunately, that's not the first time that's happened. To be honest, I have to take some of that blame as a coach because we did the same thing with Beal City and McBain on the road in the Highland Conference.
"But you have to give Roeper some credit. They kept balls in play and kept putting pressure on us. We didn't pass particularly well and we didn't serve well."
The Irish get past Cadillac
BATTLE CREEK (Nov. 17) — Cadillac got better in each game of the Class B state volleyball semifinals.
But Pontiac Notre Dame Prep was still just a little bit better.
The Fighting Irish had a hitting percentage nearly twice what Cadillac posted to beat the Vikings 25-17, 25-18, 25-23 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
The volleyball semifinal appearance was the first in school history for Cadillac, which finished with a 52-12 record. Notre Dame Prep (53-7-3) advances to the state championship against Holland Christian (44-7).
Titans advance to finals in two events
YPSILANTI (Nov. 17) — Just with its qualifying times, Traverse City West made a splash.
Then the Titans hit the pool at Eastern Michigan University.
TC West qualified for the Division 1 championship finals in two events and will be in the consolation finals in three more.
The top 16 competitors from the prelims will swim on the final day of states. The top eight make the championship flight with those placing ninth through 16th in the consolation finals, meaning the best they can finish in an event is ninth.
Swimming in the championship round today is freshman Shelby Newhouse in the 100 breaststroke. She had the fifth-best qualifying time with a 1:07.44.
Also in the top eight is the 200 freestyle relay team of Amy Brunner, Sarah Brunner, Erin Holstad and Shelby Newhouse. It's the first time a TC team has had a relay team swim on the final day of states.
West will also have its 200 medley team in the consolation final.
Titans finish 16th
YPSILANTI (Nov. 18) — The most successful season in Traverse City history ended with Traverse City West placing 16th at the Division 1 state swimming and diving final.
The Titans finished with 59 points. Ann Arbor Pioneer easily won the team title with 340 points, well in front of runner-up Livonia Stevenson's 181.
"This is the most points a Traverse City team has ever scored in a state meet," West coach Jessie Houghton said. "It's pretty sweet. It's exciting to be in the top 16. This is huge for the girls."
TC West was in the championship finals of two events and placed eighth in both.
Erin Holstad, Jordan Newhouse, Sarah Brunner and Amy Brunner were eighth in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:41.58.
Shelby Newhouse was eighth in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:08.25. Holstad was 10th in the same event with a 1:08.77, moving up three spots from Friday's prelims.
In the 200 medley relay, the team of Sarah Brunner, Amy Brunner, Holstad and Shelby Newhouse were ninth in 1:53.39.
In the 100 butterfly, Amy Brunner was 16th in 1:02.24.
Motoring to Motown
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 18) — Next stop: Motown.
Traverse City St. Francis, riding a nearly-impenetrable defense, rolled over another playoff opponent, crushing previously-unbeaten Harbor Beach 42-0 and advancing to the Division 7 state football finals.
The title contest is at Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions. St. Francis (12-1) will take on Mendon (13-0), which pounded Sand Creek 34-0.
The Gladiators, who have outscored their opponents 188-8 in four playoff wins, have captured four state championships since 1992 and will be gunning for their third Division 7 title in five years under head coach Josh Sellers.
"What we've done is very impressive, but if you don't come away with a state championship it doesn't matter," said Sellers, who has a career record of 57-6. "The score might not show it, but we made too many mistakes today, had too many penalties.
"We have to get better to beat Mendon."
Gaylord's Secor finishes fifth
KETTERING, Ohio (Nov. 19) — Gaylord's Sloan Secord finished fifth in the Mid-East regional cross country championships in Kettering, Ohio.
Sloan posted a 5K time of 18:21. Ohio's Claire Durkin won the race in 17:24. She was followed by Illinois' Caitlin Comfort (18:08) and Michigan's Tiffany Abrahamian (18:13) and Katie Haines (18:20).
Michigan won the six-state team event with 40 points.
State to show SF state final
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 20)— The Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators will be playing on the big stage at Ford Field in Detroit.
They'll also be on the big screen in northern Michigan.
Bellaire filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore confirmed that the Division 7 high school state championship football game between St. Francis and Mendon will be shown at the newly-renovated State Theatre.
"If somebody brings me a St. Francis hat, I'll wear it," joked Moore, who plans to join fans at the State Theatre. "Everyone is really excited to have one of our local teams in the state finals."
Cherrywood Chiefs win tourney title
WAWA, Ontario, Canada (Nov. 21) — The Cherrywood Chiefs women's travel hockey team won the Wawa Women's Classic.
Amy Letts of Cadillac led the Chiefs (7-0) in scoring with five goals while Heather Greenwald of Traverse City and Joelle Beaudoin of Elk Rapids had four and Ashley Troy of TC three.
Top defenders were Marlene Bienkowski, Kathy Kost and Anne Kullenberg. Sunny Letizio and Jen Barnhart each had one shutout.
St. Francis takes on No. 1 Mendon
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 22) — It all comes down to this.
Fifteen weeks after the first football practice of the season — and perhaps more significantly, thirteen weeks after an eye-opening loss to Suttons Bay in their season opener — the Traverse City St. Francis Gladiators will play for a Division 7 state championship at Ford Field in Detroit.
The Gladiators (12-1) will square off against top-ranked Mendon (13-0). St. Francis will be shooting for its third state title in five years under head coach Josh Sellers.
"We don't want to go down there just to be there," Sellers said. "We want to go down and play our best, and hopefully that's good enough. There's nothing else we can do but that."
Beach Bums' Garza lands TV gig
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 23) — Aaron Garza made a name for himself in Traverse City last year as a baseball player.
Now, the Beach Bums outfielder is switching sports — at least for a little while.
Garza will appear in an episode of NBC's football drama series "Friday Night Lights" as the middle linebacker and captain for the team opposing the series' focal point, the Dillon Panthers.
The agent for Garza's father, David, told Garza about the audition. With a background in football as well as baseball — he was an all-district and all-Central Texas wide receiver for Westlake High School and played in two state championship games — he landed the part and will appear in the Dec. 7 episode.
David Garza recently appeared in an episode of Fox's "Prison Break" and is in the 2008 film "Largo." Both have appeared in commercials, with Aaron doing ads for Wal-Mart, Captain Crunch, Radio Shack and Budweiser and landing modeling gigs with Saks Fifth Avenue and Texas Monthly Magazine.
TC West advances to own tourney final
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 24) — Jeremy Rintala got Traverse City West out on the right skate.
The first-year coach didn't wait too long to pick up his first victory, as the Titans downed Dearborn Unified 5-1 in the opening round of the Traverse City West Holiday Invitational.
"It feels good to get that out of the way," said Rintala, a former assistant at TC Central.
It didn't look like it would at first, as Dearborn's Nick Field put the Titans in a 1-0 hole two minutes into the game.
But TC West responded with five unanswered goals, as Dylan Sullivan and Shane Totten lit the lamp to give the Titans a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Vinny Pietrangelo, Todd Knaus and Mitchell Snider picked up assists.
P.J. Dienes and Brian Kelly added second-period goals, with Alex Wietrick and Pietrangelo drawing helpers. Luke Gerding scored off a Gabe Hisem assist in the third period for the final 5-1 margin.
Spencer Sonneveldt was in net as West outshot Dearborn 23-5.
Area sees fewer hunting accidents
GAYLORD (Nov. 25) — Alpena resident Fred Baker once came uncomfortably close to being shot while deer hunting: He saw another hunter observe him through a rifle scope as he walked to his natural deer blind.
"I got up there and asked him if that rifle was loaded and he said it was. I thought that was pretty dangerous," Baker said last week as he shopped for a new rifle at a Gaylord sporting goods store.
Such behavior can lead to injury or death in hunting accidents, state officials said. And while no major hunting accidents were reported in northwestern Lower Michigan since the Nov. 15 start of the firearms deer season, that's not the case elsewhere.
Hunters were injured in 13 reported accidents during the last nine days, including two fatal shootings — on Nov. 17 in Montcalm County and in Oceana County on Thanksgiving Day. There were 17 hunting accidents during the entire deer season last year, including three fatalities.
Statistics show most injuries occur when hunters shoot themselves or a hunting partner, often in the foot.
Stinger: Turnovers doom Glads, 20-0
DETROIT (Nov. 25) — Out of character, out of sync, out of luck.
Traverse City St. Francis, playing a mistake-filled game against a team that didn't need any help to begin with, saw its dream of a Division 7 state football championship go up in smoke with a 20-0 loss to top-ranked Mendon at Ford Field.
The Gladiators (12-2), who outscored their opponents 188-8 in the four playoff games leading up to the final, turned the ball over five times, changed quarterbacks in the second quarter and at one point committed penalties on three consecutive plays while trying to rally in the fourth.
All in all, it was a long and trying day for a team that had grown used to making life miserable for the opposition.
"It came down to execution and we failed," said Gladiators senior lineman Dana Larsen. "We didn't play St. Francis football."
Three area players earn All-State
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 27) — Three for three.
Three area volleyball players saw their third season on varsity end with first-team all-state honors.
Suttons Bay junior Maggie Walters was a first team selection in Class C while Leland senior Erica Breen and McBain Northern Michigan Christian senior Erin VanderPlas earned the same honor in Class D.
Walters, who already owns the school record for career kills, banged out 723 this season for the Norse. She also had 121 blocks, 146 digs, and served 95 percent with 83 aces.
VanderPlas, who led her team to the state semifinals, had 377 kills, 53 blocks, 320 digs and served 88.8 percent with 109 aces. Breen had 429 kills, 69 blocks, 369 digs and served at a 92 percent clip with 51 aces.
In all 20 area players received recognition from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association.
Cadillac's Liz Foltz was a second team selection in Class B.
In Class C, Boyne City's Amber Kotalik was a third team all-state selection.
In Class D, Harbor Light Christian's Kaylee Hewitt and Pellston's Katie Dzedzie were second team selections while Leland's Juliana Lisuk and Pellston's Kasi Fyke were third team picks.
Rayders topple Frankfort
FRANKFORT (Nov. 28) — In its showdown series with Charlevoix, Frankfort holds a 2-1 advantage.
But Bret Erskine holds a 1-0 advantage.
Erskine made his girls basketball coaching debut in Charlevoix's 53-36 victory over the Panthers.
The Rayders jumped out to a 14-7 edge after the opening quarter and extended the advantage to 32-19 at halftime.
Meredith Rich led a balanced attack for Charlevoix with 14 points. Desi Faust added 12 for Charlevoix.
Kendall Heller paced Frankfort with 12 points.
Trojans skate by Gaylord
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 29) — Two coaches.
One wins. One loses.
Both are happy?
It doesn't happen often, but in an early-season matchup, Traverse City Central earned a 2-1 Big North Conference win over Gaylord and the leaders of both teams seemed pleased.
TC Central coach Chris Givens was happy the Trojans escaped with a victory in the league opener.
Gaylord coach Bill Touroo was encouraged by a completely overhauled defense that was able to limit the 2006 Division II state champions to 29 shots on goal in his team's first action of the year against a squad with two contests under its belt.
"We lost five senior defensemen last year. Our young guys played well — including (freshman blueliner) Jim Ryan — and that's an area we were concerned about," Touroo said.
"All in all, I'm pretty pleased with what I saw."
TC Wolves football begins operations
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 30) — The Traverse City Wolves semi-pro football team, which is scheduled to begin play in the North American Football League in 2009, has officially begun operations.
Team owner/general manager Daniel Skibbe said the Wolves plan to help with the fund raising efforts to refurbish Thirlby Field, where the team hopes to play its home games.
The summer-league team plans to hold an open tryout on April 5, 2008.
Bums open '08 season at home
TRAVERSE CITY (Nov. 30) — The Traverse City Beach Bums announced they will begin and end their third Frontier League baseball season at Wuerfel Park next summer.
The team will play a record 54 home games in 2008.
"We're extremely excited about our schedule," said Bums co-owner and chief financial officer Leslye Wuerfel. "We have a couple of pretty long road trips — straight to Chillicothe (Ohio) and also straight back from Florence (Ky.) — but we're playing a lot of home games after the all-star break, and we have a lot of great things planned for the fans.
"It really makes it fun for our staff."
Traverse City opens training camp on May 7, with opening day set for two weeks later on May 21 against the Midwest Sliders. The Sliders, formally from Slippery Rock, Pa., will be a travel-only team in 2008, which gives each team in their division an additional six home games.
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