2B
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 25, 2015
S PORTS B RIEFS
Registration for
evening golf league
Hidden Valley Golf Course has opened
registration for its Tuesday evening
league. The league, made of 10 to 12
four-person teams, begins April 28 and
plays for 10 weeks. The league is open to
men and women of all ages and all skill
levels. No handicap is necessary. For
more registration info, contact Hidden
Valley Golf Course at 541 942-3046. The
team registration fee of $50 is due by
April 21.
Registration to
open for Middle
School Mile
The University of Oregon is once again
hosting the Middle School Mile at the Or-
egon Twilight on Friday, May 8. Registra-
tion for the race will be open on April1.
Please send the following information to
middle.school.mile.twilight@gmail.com:
Athlete's name, grade, gender, home-
town and school/club affi liation; parent/
guardian's name, email and phone num-
ber.
Registration is open to boys and girls in
grades 6, 7, and 8. The race will be lim-
ited to the fi rst 40 girls and 40 boys who
register.
S PRING A WAKENING
Continued from 1B
As for the movies you’ve
mentioned, I believe they
would fi nd their way onto
most anyone’s list of sports
favorites, and there are a
great many more classics
you could’ve listed: Ma-
jor League, Eight Men Out,
Cobb, etc.
MH: My simple answer to
all three questions: nostalgia.
I’ve been to Wrigley Field
and Fenway Park, and believe
me, neither one has anything
in common with, say Jerry’s
World, with its 80-yard,
high-defi nition video screen,
but I’d rather catch a game at
those historic stadiums than
anywhere else.
The baseball narrative
— coming to terms with the
inexorable, often painful,
passing of time against the
backdrop of a sport with no
clock — is so relatable, and
makes for a great movie.
And yearning for some-
thing you’ve never experi-
enced is pretty common: who
among us has not believed —
at one point or another — that
we were meant to live in a
different era? These fantasies
have impossible barriers of
time and space. And maybe
that’s the allure of a fantasy;
never fi nding out if the dream
compares to reality.
JS: Legendary sportswriter
Red Smith wrote that “90 feet
between home plate and fi rst
base may be the closest man
has ever come to perfection,”
and it’s certainly true that the
game of baseball is a won-
derful yardstick for human
achievement. George Will’s
terrifi c book “Men at Work”
details the physics of the
game’s many skill require-
ments, in addition to how the
rules of baseball have evolved
to demand the best skills our
species can produce. (It’s fas-
cinating, for example, how
the pitching dominance of
Bob Gibson, Denny McLain,
Don Drysdale and others in
1968 — known as the Year
of the Pitcher — led to rule
changes such as a shorter
pitcher’s mound to give hit-
ters a break.)
Thus, each spring new
generations of ballplayers
fi nd themselves between two
white chalk lines that extend
to infi nity, locked in epic
struggles with their peers and
— perhaps more importantly
— themselves. Each year,
spring forecasts summer, the
sun comes out and we fi nd
baseball again. Each year,
we come back to the game; it
does not come to us.
I grew up among a tight-
knit group of friends who
frequently found ourselves
between those two white
lines amidst the cornfi elds
of Illinois, and anyone will-
ing to pay attention could’ve
learned everything they need-
ed to know about us from
watching us play the game,
even way back then. I’ve
been back to my hometown
recently, and those lines are
still there, begging those who
would dare to try and crush
one over good-old Route 16.
We were also fortunate
enough to spend many af-
ternoons at Busch Stadium,
watching some of the best
baseball ever played, and
for a starry-eyed kid, seeing
baseball titans succeed and
fail, struggle and conquer
between those same white
lines makes one believe that
anything and everything truly
is possible. Field of Dreams,
indeed.
You mention nostalgia, and
I really believe that, because
the game never really chang-
es, baseball makes it pos-
sible for us to go home again.
Generations of players come
and go, but for generations
of baseball fans it’s beyond
wholesome to know that a
place like Wrigley Field is
still there waiting for the
hopeful throng to come enjoy
a balmy summer afternoon.
“Baseball, to me, is still
the national pastime because
it is a summer game. I feel
that almost all Americans are
summer people, that summer
is what they think of when
they think of their childhood.
I think it stirs up an incred-
ible emotion within people.”
— Steve Busby, in Wash-
ington Post, 8 July 1974
MH: Two summers ago, I
was passing through the mid-
west when I made a detour to
(Dyersville) Iowa — for rea-
sons I can’t even fathom.
I turned up the driveway
(of 28995 Lansing Road) not
knowing for sure why I was
doing it.
I arrived at the Field of
Dreams longing for the past.
But I was the only one there.
Jon, this is exactly why
I haven't spent a lot of time
exploring my love of base-
ball in any concrete sense.
Here I was in Iowa (or was
it heaven?) on a perfect June
afternoon, and the place was
literally empty; nobody was
even there to take my $20.
I’m curious: when you
were back at home, did you
fi nd the latest generation of
players between those two
white chalk lines, aiming for
Route 16?
JS: These days, the fi elds
are fi lled with the sons and
daughters of my childhood
friends, who are now taking
their turn in the coach’s box.
They’re not playing ball just
yet, as the Midwest weather
is still a bit too unpredictable
this time of year, but the ball
fi eld will be the central gath-
ering place in my hometown
of some 600 souls very soon.
The same relentless marching
of time can be glimpsed in
St. Louis, where the Cardinal
players we grew up idolizing
now coach a new generation
of players or offer their tal-
ents in the broadcast booth.
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF
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League: Meri Rollers
Date: March 17
COTTAGE BOWL
League: 5 O'Clock Shadows
Date: March 15
Team
Mid State
4 U Simple
Amigos Quatro
Book Mine
C.G. Vac and Sew
V. Richenstain MD
Jenni and the Jets 2
Ames to be True
Aces High
All in the Family
Jim's Tire Factory
W
15
15
14
13
10
9.5
8.5
8
8
7
5
L
5
5
6
7
10
10.5
7.5
8
12
13
15
High Game
Men: Aaron Ames 235
Women: Callena True 222
Men Three-high series
1. Aaron Ames 667
2. Robert Hand 603
3. Ron Bascue 600
Women Three-high Series
1. Callena True 539
2. Jan McTaggart 519
3. Cherry Bascue 506
Marvin Smith Auto
Bi Mart
Who Cares
Firs Bowl
Cottage Bowl
T.J.'s Big Horse Farm
CG Speedway
You've Been Merved
One Night Stand
Hines Cutting
W
50.5
49
46
43.5
41
39
35
33
32
32
20
15
L
21.5
23
26
28.5
31
33
37
39
40
40
52
57
High Game
Team: Red Solo Cup 962
Individual: Tom Mathis 278
High Series
Team: Bi Mart 3481
Individual: Tom Mathis 956
League: Dynamic Trios
Date: March 17
Team
W
Swearengin Design 21
Grandma's Rule
21
Advanced Eyecare 20
H. Selective Log. 17
Golding Enterprises 16.5
Cottage Bowlerettes 14.5
H's Rowdy Bunch 13
New Creations
10
K. Family Merc.
4
R's Beauty Salon 3
W
22
20
19
17
17
15
13
12
12
8
5
L
6
8
9
11
11
13
15
16
16
16
19
High Game: Allie Simons 216
Three-high Series:
1.Allie Simons 593
2. Megan McNary 530
3. Mary Whetstone 488
League: Cottage Mixers
Date: March 18
League: Scratch
Date: March 16
Team
Columbia 300
Red Solo Cup
Team
Blue Sunshine
Treasure Chest
Emerald Valley
Moms Girls
Team Reliv
Simand Chiro.
Charlie's Angels
Addi's Diner
Three Amigos
Ron's Girls
Lucky Ladies
League: Junior Stars
Date: March 21
L
7
7
8
11
11.5
13.5
15
18
24
25
High Game: Margot Cotcher 217
Three-high Series
1. Megan McNary 528
2. Debbie Saldana 511
3. Deanna Worley 487
Team
Commonwealth F.
C.G. Speedway
Covered Bridge U.
Jerry Brown Co.
Swearengin Design
Funseekers
Kelly's Trailer R.
Bowling Stones
Cottage Bowl
Taylor's Towing
W
31
27
19
18
17
16
15
14
12
6
L
4
8
16
17
18
19
20
21
23
29
League: Ball and Chain
Date: March 20
W
17
13
12
12
11
11
8
7
4
3
W
20
15
14
Space Money Mafi a 13
Delivery Boys
11
Lane Damage
11
Hot Shots
5
Junior Who Cares 5
My Spare Ladies 5
Team to Beat
1
L
0
5
6
7
9
9
15
15
15
19
High Game
Boys: Jared Simmons 203
Girls: Kim Smith 181
High Series
Boys: Steven Richey 571
Girls: Fayth Stewart 497
MIDDLEFIELD MENS GOLF
High Game
Men: Joe Simons 279
Women: Mary Whetstone 230
High Series
Men: Joe Simons 697
Women: Jeralee Swearengin 206
Team
Bowl Dozers
Cracker Jacks
Roman Numerals
More Beer
Senior Funsters
Pin Pushers
Joe's Diner
Thunder Boltz
Party Patrol
Ally Oops
Team
Ten Pin Mafi a
J Dawgs
Lane Rangers
Boyd Brinick
makes a leaping
catch during a
South Valley Ath-
letics co-ed adult
softball game in
July of 2012, the
last year that the
league was or-
ganized. SVA is
hoping to once
again offer this
summer program
— which was very
popular before it
was discontinued.
The organization
is in the process
of determining if
a league is viable,
and it welcomes
feedback from the
community.
L
3
7
8
8
9
9
12
13
12
13
High Game
Men: Jim Bricher 258
Women: Vanessa Chenoweth 243
Men Three-high Series
1. David Nichols 683
2. Jim Bricher 677
3. Jeremy Nelson 660
Women Three-high Series
1. Vanessa Chenoweth 608
2. Koleen Kelly 558
3. Robin Kwandt 523
Date: March 16
Game: 2-3 Best Ball
1, Jim Cunningham, Mel Gowing,
David Morris, Jerry Pennington
(-15). 2, Darrell Lee, Dick Winters,
Don Hanly, Gary Sparks (-11). 3,
Dave England, Ron Ackerman,
Frank LaCosse, Paul Waterman (-8).
Low Gross: 1, Deross Kinkade 71.
2, Mike Helms. 3, Sparks 76.
Low Net: 1, England 63. 2t, Winters
65. 2t, Cunningham 65.
Closest to the Pin: No. 5, Jack
Doleman. No. 7, Jim Wamsley. No.
14, Leon Hayes.
Longest Putt: No. 18, Bill Avery.
Date: March 19
Game: 3-2 Points
1, Tom Arney, Mike Cooney, Mel
Gowing, Frank Gates 110. 2t,
Bill Avery, Larry Eyman, Deross
Kinkade, Dale Johnson 108. 2t,
Mike Helms, Bob McCarty, Darrell
Lee, Tom Lemmon 108.
Low Gross: 1, Helms 71. 2t,
Kinkade 75. 2t, Matt Bjornn 75. 2t,
Sparks 75. 2t, Jack Doleman 75. 2t,
Leroy Bodine 75.
Low Net: 1, Gowing 60. 2, Bjornn
61. 3, Dale Johnson 63.
Closest to the Pin: No. 5, Virgil
Miller. No. 7, Bjornn. No. 14, Dave
England.
Longest Putt: No. 1, Helms.
CG WOMENS VOLLEYBALL
League: Set & Spike
Date: March 17
Team
Timber Chicks
Olson Electric
Markham Electric
Nice Hits
Horners
O Ducks
Twisted Sisters
W
46
40
30
20
19
17
8
L
5
14
21
31
32
34
43
Co-ed adult softball league is
back on the table, says SVA
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
After a two-year hiatus, South Valley Athletics
is hoping to once again offer a co-ed adult softball
league. Whether or not games will ultimately be
played on summer evenings at Bohemia Elemen-
tary is partly dependent on feedback from the
community, according to SVA offi cials.
“At its core, South Valley is a youth sports orga-
nization,” said board member Jennifer Radcliffe.
“However, the board agrees that we want to pro-
vide the services that the community tells us it
wants.”
For many years, co-ed adult softball was a top
draw among active locals during the summer
months. The league was comprised of 6-10 teams
and frequently had over 100 players.
Following the 2012 season, however, the league
was in need of a new organizer. When one did not
emerge in time for the following summer, SVA
could not offer the league. Ken Hornick took
the reigns in 2014. But by the time SVA had an-
nounced the summer season, many players had al-
ready signed up for Eugene leagues, and SVA did
not have enough teams to support its own league.
One of the complaints received by the organi-
zation, according to administrator Smiley Glenn,
was not enough notice.
Hornick said he hopes that with greater aware-
ness SVA will be able to fi eld an 8-10-team league
with 150 individual players, and he believes this
is a reasonable goal based on conversations he has
had with folks in the community.
The proposed season would run from late June
to early August, and the cost per team would be
$500.
Glenn said that the organization has discussed
using some portion of those fees to address fi eld
conditions, which also drew complaints during
the most recent season.
Those interested in seeing the return of SVAs
co-ed adult softball league are asked to email
Hornick at khandah@gmail.com or call the SVA
offi ce at 541-942-3079.