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RAIN DELAY SUNDAY MORNING AUGUST 16 – update at 2:30PM central time
The earlier schedule posted has been changed – we are waiting for an official update.
Sunday August 16 – Games we plan and hope to do, though rain delay could result in elimination of one or more
MidWest Stampede vs NY Gremlins
Aspen Interiors vs Dolan & Murphy
The Farm vs Pueblo Bandits
Broken Bow Patsy’s vs Bar of Appleton
Editor’s note: Will men’s softball ever get into the Olympics? With the IOC recommending golf and rugby, it seems that day is now further away than ever.
Soft touch: the 2016 Olympics will not be graced by softball after it failed to gain recommendation for inclusion Photo: REUTERS
Daily Telegraph
Golf and rugby sevens have been recommended for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics by the IOC. But where does this leave the other five sports that missed out?
By Rod Gilmour
Published: 3:30PM BST 13 Aug 2009
Olympics 2016: as rugby sevens and golf recommended what will become of those that missed the cut?Baseball
Will not be fazed by missing out on $10 million boost that comes with inclusion in the summer Games and still has a significant global audience.
However, it has suffered from Major League Baseball’s doping scandals and an inability to persuade top players to participate in the Games. A shortened eight-team tournament for 2016 was credible but at present there are just too few competitive nations.
Karate
It may be the most popular of the martial arts but poor lobbying looks to have accounted for a sport that claims to have 100 million competitors. The Olympics already has judo and taekwondo and it may take another competitor to kick a referee in the face – as happened in Beijing – before the latter is axed and karate gets its chance again.
Along with squash, karate narrowly missed out on IOC’s controversial two-thirds majority vote in 2005. Administrators will now have to work hard on differentiating the sport from judo and taekwondo.
Roller Sports
Given the IOC’s stance on attracting youth to the Games, this was an outside chance for 2016. The sport’s green credentials also held the bid in good stead while the proposed speed skating road race required no special venue.
But is this what the IOC wanted rather than skateboarding or rink hockey, which appeared as a demonstration sport at the Barcelona Games? It’s back to the drawing board.
Squash
If medals were handed out today, it is likely that Egypt and Malaysia would pick up gold, fitting the IOC requirement of under-developed countries winning medals. Supporters say that this would be the pinnacle of the sport, but the truth is squash doesn’t yet fit the IOC’s agenda of global TV domination, mainly due to the problem of following the ball on a screen. The advent of high-definition TV should change this.
Both men and women’s world tours are also in good health and administrators are slowly finding appeal from sponsors attracted to the drop-in glass courts and potential with venues. But how the sport will cope by narrowly missing out on 2008 and now 2016 after a fervent few years of lobbying remains to be seen.
Softball
Looked to have made a late bid to sneak in through the back door after being dropped for the 2012 Games in London. Has links to baseball but unlike its big brother is drug free and its inventive global development programmes could see it make more of an impact for a 2020 bid.
The International Softball Federation recently announced a $100,000 grant for the sport in Africa with new equipment and programmes. Softball is, at least, making the right noises with the US still dominant in the game.
—
The IOC Congress takes place in Copenhagen on Oct 2 when the committee will decide on whether golf and/or rugby sevens should be approved for 2016. The host city for those Games will also be announced at the quadrennial vote.
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Ballpark Radio, the exclusive provider of streaming audio and video for the International Softball Congress, is pleased to announce that it will be doing 49 live broadcasts from the ISC World Tournament and the ISC II Tournament of Champions in Quad Cities, IA-IL. The broadcast schedule for both tournaments is below.
Broadcasts from the ISC World Tournament will be streamed with four-camera video and audio through a new portal – www.ballparkradio.tv.
ISC II broadcasts, as they have for the past five years, will be audio streamed through www.ballparkradio.com.
Links to the broadcasts will also be available on the ISC website at www.iscfastpitch.com and Al’s Fastball at www.alsfastball.com
The Ballpark Radio team includes play-by-play broadcasters Kyle Smith, Jim Flanagan, Blair Setford and Lance Winn along with color commentary by Bill Hillhouse, Joe Todd and additional guests.
Players in both tournaments are asked to please fill out the online form at the links below to provide our broadcasters with some biographical information about you for use during the broadcasts.
World Tournament
Tournament of Champions
For additional information on Ballpark Radio or the ISC and ISC II broadcast schedule, please contact:
Program Directors
Jim Flanagan
jim@ballparkradio.com
Blair Setford
blair@ballparkradio.com
FULL SCHEDULE AFTER THE JUMP
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ISC WORLD TOURNAMENT
Moline, IL – August 14-21, 2009
Streaming Video:
www.ballparkradio.tv
ISC II TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Rock Island, IL – August 18-22, 2009
Streaming Audio:
www.ballparkradio.com
The 2009 ISC World Tournament of Men’s Fastball will be carried live on Ballparkradio.tv, August 15-21, 2009, from Moline, Illinois part of the quartet of cities comprising Quad Cities, Iowa.
The streaming broadcat network will broadcast twenty (20) games over a seven day period, in both video and audio, culminating in the ISC World Tournament championship game at 7:00 p.m. on August 21, 2009.
The 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions of Men’s Fastball will be carried live on Ballparkradio.com, August 18-22, 2009, from Rock Island, Illinois, part of the quartet of cities comprising Quad Cities, Iowa.
The Ballparkradio crew of broadcasters will be on hand to bring you all of the action, including play-by-play announcers, Kyle Smith, Jim Flanagan, Blair Setford and Lance Winn, along with color commentators Bill Hillhouse, Derek Pukash, Joe Todd, and others.
Fastball fans can view the games live, tuning in by clicking the “Click to Listen” or “Click to View” buttons right here on the here at the Ballparkradio.TV website.
Player Bio Forms
Players in both the ISC World Tournament and ISC II Tournament of Champions are invited to fill in the online player bio form to provide our broadcasters with some information for use during the games.
Click here for the ISC World Tournament Player profile form.
Click here for the ISC II Tournament of Champions Player profile form.
After not being able to play a single game on Saturday, the Tournament Committee had the fields ready for play and for the completion of the Double Elimination Bracket. But through all their efforts, it rained again at 4am and the fields were again deluged. The Tournament was converted to a Single Elimination Bracket and two of the teams were unable to continue. Games began at 7am on one field, and at 8 am on the other field. The Championship game was an awesome pitching duel with no earned runs and the only runs scored were on a pickoff play that was just off barely off target. The Championship game was won 2-0 by New Image over Marshall Lightning. Most people expected the two teams that dominated Friday in round robin play to do the same, but in single elimination anything can happen, and it certainly did, with 3 upsets in the quarterfinals. It made the day very exciting.
Thanks to the Host Committee and their leader Heather Bauman and to Shirley Roberts of the Bay County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and to Bay City and Bay County Parks and Recreation and to the Bay City Softball Association for their support.
The umpiring was tremendous and the event was enjoyed by all, despite the weather, and several hundred fans attended the event making it one to remember. Thanks to UIC Steve Vail from Wisconsin and the great umpire staff of Rick Havercrof, Dave Seldon, Joe Squires, Ted Germain, Mike Clark, Jeff Yorke, Mark Larson, Jim Fitrakis, Steve Jahnke, Larry Tait, and Vic Cena.
Thanks to the NAFA Tournament Staff of Vice President, Loren Lathrop, Wisconsin, Dewey Yoke, Washington, and Jan Tokorcheck of Southern California doing the statistical analysis.
Benjie Hedgecock
Executive Director
Final Order of Finish
1st – New Image, Wisconsin, 4-1
2nd – Marshall Lightning, Michigan, 4-1
3rd – Munger Softball, Michigan, 2-2
3rd – Twisters, Michigan, 1-3
5th – Hickson Reds, Ontario Canada, 2-1
5th – Ingersoll Crush, Ontario Canada, 2-1
7th – Keating Fitness, Pennsylvania, 1-2
8th – Tiffany’s, Michigan, 0-3
9th – CPI, Ontario, Canada, 1-2
10th – UTD, Michigan, 0-3
Quarter Finals:
New Image-2 – Tiffany’s-1
Winning Pitcher – Bryan Lathrop
Losing Pitcher – Pete Loachridge
Munger Softball-4 – Ingersoll Crush-3
Winning Pitcher – Mike Joseph
Losing Pitcher – Ryan Cummings
Marshall Lightning-3 – Hixson Reds-0
Winning Pitcher – Sean Kelly
Losing Pitcher – Mark Vanvliet
Twisters-7 – Keating Fitness-6
Winning Pitcher – Rick Engle
Losing Pitcher – Dave Stokes
Semi-Finals
New Image-3 – Munger Softball-2
Winning Pitcher – Jeremy Holman
Losing Pitcher – Mike Joseph
Marshall Lightning-9 – Twisters-2
Winning Pitcher – Sean Kelly
Losing Pitcher – Rick Engle
Championship Game
New Image-2 – Lightning-0
Winning Pitcher – Jeremy Holman
Losing Pitcher – Sean Kelly
All-American Team Selections
Most Valuable Player Jeff Jahn, Catcher, New Image
Most Valuable Pitcher, Sean Kelly, Lightning
Name Team Avg RBI HR
Eric Scott Ingersoll Crush:2009 700 1 0
Adam Learn Hickson Reds:2009 667 3 1
Frank Keating Jr Keating Fitness:2009 500 0 0
Steve Myers Marshall Lightning:2009 500 4 0
Shea Bryant Munger Softball:2009 455 1 1
Sean McLaren Hickson Reds:2009 444 4 2
DJ Latford Ingersoll Crush:2009 444 2 0
Jeff Jahn New Image:2009 385 1 0
Todd Moore Munger Softball:2009 385 0 0
Trevor Kelly Marshall Lightning:2009 333 2 0
Todd Burlage New Image:2009 313 4 1
Chris Rivard Marshall Lightning:2009 267 5 2
Adam Fishbach Hickson Reds:2009 333 4 2
Name Team ERA SO
Bryon Lathrop New Image:2009 0.00 12
Sean Kelly Marshall Lightning:2009 0.49 42
Mike Joseph Munger Softball:2009 1.59 14
Jeramie Holman New Image:2009 1.64 29
Phillies miss playoffs at Westerns
By Eric MacKenzie, The Daily Graphic
A tough start to the Senior B Men’s Western Canadian Fastpitch Championship in Regina was too much for the Portage Phillies to overcome, as they missed the playoff round at this weekend’s tournament.
The Phillies, who captured a bronze medal at last year’s Westerns in Brandon, went 1-5 through the round-robin to finish eighth out of the nine teams.
Portage’s bats were relatively silent at the event, as they posted a tournament-low 14 runs in their six games, and batting just .220 as a team.
“The other teams had really quality pitching, so we didn’t hit the ball the way we normally do,” said Phillies’ pitcher Gregg Waldvogel. “The teams were a lot deeper than we saw last year in Brandon, and every game was a tough game for us.”
Meanwhile, Waldvogel had a rare off-weekend, struggling to an 0-3 record and a 14.00 ERA in his 13 innings of work.
Look for the full story in The Daily Graphic newspaper, or subscribe to our online edition.
sports.dailygraphic@shawcable.com
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BallparkRadio.TV will be doing live VIDEO and AUDIO broadcasts of selected games at the ISC World Tournament at Quad Cities, Iowa/Moline, Illinois.
Please fill out the form below to provide our broadcasters with some information about you for use during the broadcasts.
The schedule for broadcasts on BallparkRadio, for both the ISC World Tournament and the ISC II Tournament of Champions, will be available in the next couple of days.
BallparkRadio is the exclusive provider of streaming audio and video for the ISC and ISC II.
Jim Flanagan
BALLPARKRADIO
http://www.ballparkradio.tv
Men’s Fastpitch Live on the Internet
ISC WORLD TOURNAMENT
Moline, IL – August 14-21, 2009
Streaming Video and Audio: www.ballparkradio.tv
ISC II TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Rock Island, IL – August 18-22, 2009
Streaming Audio: www.ballparkradio.com
Results from the third day of play at the NAFA “A†World Series at Harmodon Park, Sioux Falls, SD. Games begin again on Sunday at 8:00 AM with the lower bracket. Weather was hot and humid, with games being postponed for one hour-thirty minutes due to tornado watches mid-afternoon.
Winner’s Bracket
Crowbar, SD – 5, Flor de Cana, CA – 0
KC Angels, MO – 9, GLC, MI – 1
Lower Bracket
9:00 AM
Graber & Assc, SD – 7, Communiquest, MI – 0 (forfeit)
Boulder Rebels, CO – 12, San Prairie, WI – 9
Priority Mortgage, MI – 12, J & D Tube – 0
NW Implement, KS – 14, Palm Springs Express, CA – 6
Clark Construction, IN – 14, Winterset A’s – 1
Youngs Prime #2, SD – 10, Firesteel Snakes – 6
Panteras II, CA – 8, Mac-O-Che, OH – 3
Ricola, FP, NJ – 14, John’s Plumbing, NB – 3
10:45 AM
Cornerstone, PA – 7, Graber & Assc, SD – 2
Boulder Rebels, CO – 11, Alchins Disposal, MI – 9
MG Construction, WI – 9, Priority Mortgage, MI – 0
Kassan State Theatre, MN – 5 , NW Implement, KS – 1
Castle Plumbing, MI – 5, Clark Construction, IN – 0
Ramona FP, SD – 11, Youngs Prime #2, SD – 1
Silver Stars, SD – 6, Panteras II – 5
Ricola FP, NJ – 7, Budweiser, WI – 5
Delay due to tornado watches, times were adjusted from the original schedule
4:00 PM
Cornerstone, PA – 3, Preston Merchants, MN – 1
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12, Boulder Rebels, CO – 2
MG Construction, WI – 7, Main Street FP, WI – 0
Kassan State Theater, MN – 5, Ramsey Financial, IL – 4
Rice Lake Orangemen, WI – 7, Castle Plumbling, MI – 6
Ramona FP, SD – 7, Grumpy’s, IA – 4
Crouch Electric, MI – 10, Silver Stars, SD – 0
Ricola FP, NJ – 6, Wizards of Oz, KS – 4
5:45 PM
MG Construction, WI – 5, Cornerstone, PA – 4
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12, Kassan State Theatre, MN – 1
Crouch Electric, MI – 5, Rice Lake Orangemen, WI – 1
Ricola FP, NJ – 11, Ramona FP – 6
9:15 PM
Scarletts, SD – 11, MG Construction, WI – 8 vs Scarletts
Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 12 vs Premier Bank, IA – 0
Crouch Electric, MI – 3, Wilson/Point Blank, WI – 2
Deluth, FP, MN – 17 vs Ricola FP, NJ – 16 (not a typo)
11:30PM
Scarletts, SD – 10, Winnipeg Bullets, Canada – 1
Crouch Electric, MI – 12, Deluth FP, MN – 3
Sunday
Winner’s Bracket
9:45 AM
Crowbar, SD vs KC Angels, MO
Lower Bracket
8:00 AM
Scarlet’s, SD – 10, GLC, MI – 11
Flor de Cana, CA – 12, Crouch Electric, MI – 5
9:45 AM
GLC, MI vs Flor de Cana, CA
From the Quad City Times:
(click link for original news story at Quad City Times)
By Doug Green
Quad-Cities pitcher Al Rebling delivers a pitch (Maddy Flanagan/ Contributed photo)
When the International Softball Congress World Fastball tournament returns to the Quad-Cities this week, it brings a rich history and tradition.
The Quad-Cities hosted the tournament from 1961 to 1969 and also in 1973. During those summers Rock Island’s Douglas Park was the center of the softball world.
Legendary Quad-City Times sports editor John O’Donnell wrote: “From Pennsylvania to California they came to visit this community and to compete for the top prize in the softball world.”
While what they are competing for is still the same, where they come from clearly is not. When the 24 teams head to Moline’s Greenvalley Complex on Friday, they will come not only from all over the country but all over the world. This year’s tournament will feature teams from the Dominican Republic and Canada and players from Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Then and now
In 1963, fans could listen to Ed Zack’s play-by-play of the semifinals and finals on WOC radio. For the last three years, the ISC has been streaming the tournament live online, with a team of a dozen play-by-play announcers and color analysts to describe the action. This year there will be a video stream of 15-20 games of the world tournament and an audio stream of 20-25 games for the ISC II tournament.
But at its core, it is the same game O’Donnell wrote about more than 40 years ago.
The game still centers around pitching and the ability to hit a sphere traveling 80 to 90 mph from only 40 feet away.
During the ’60s, the pitchers had the advantage. That gap has narrowed today.
The hitters have caught up to the pitchers because they see so many quality teams, thanks to round-robin play every weekend, Pat Sullivan said.
Sullivan has spent the past 45 years as part of the ISC. He was named an All-American catcher in 1969 and currently is the regional commissioner out of Dubuque.
Expectations
The players from yesteryear wonder how the tournament will be received now.
“You need local participation,” said Gary Dobereiner, who played for the locally-based Harrelson Motors team that won the world title in 1967. “Actually, softball in this area has gone down from the ’60s. Back in the ’60s we had six to eight teams in a metro league that were competitive.”
Games during that period consistently drew 3,000-4,000 people. A 10-day tournament easily eclipsed 30,000. The record for single day attendance at the world tournament in the Quad-Cities was 6,020, set in 1963.
But that was then and this is now. No one can predict what kind of reception the ISC will receive. That unknown is the main reason the Quad-Cities turned down its option to host the tournament again in 2011.
“For them to pick it up, they would had to make a decision before they knew how well 2009 was going to go,” ISC executive director Ken Hackmeister said.
Whether the Quad-Cities would choose to bid on a future tournament depends on how 2009 fares, Hackmeister said.
This year
When the world tournament kicks off on Friday, only two local team will be in the bracket – the Davenport-based Quad-City Sox and the Thomson (Ill.) Merchants.
The ISC II tournament will begin a week from Tuesday at Rock Island’s Campbell Complex. ISC II softball can be described as the triple-A to the world tournament’s major leagues. Three local teams – Walcott’s Lampliter Inn, Davenport’s Pizza Shack and Bettendorf’s Q-C Titans – will be among the 40 teams competing.
Way back when Champions of the ISC World tournament when it is was held at Rock Island’s Douglas Park:
1961 – Dautrich Realty, El Paso, Texas
1962 – Dautrich Realty, El Paso, Texas
1963 – Gardena Merchants, Gardena, Calif.
1964 – Paramount Chevrolet Impalas, Downey, Calif.
1965 – Ponoma Bombers, Ponoma, Calif.
1966 – Gardena Merchants, Gardena, Calif.
1967 – Harrelson Motors, Moline, Ill.
1968 – Long Beach Nitehawks, Long Beach, Calif.
1969 – Sal’s Lunch, Philadelphia, Pa.
1973 – Lakewood Jets, Lakewood, Calif.
TICKETS
Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for anyone 60 and over. Anyone under 16 is free.
A nine-day tournament pass is available for $35, $25 for 60-plus.
Those who played in the tournament during its last time in the Quad-Cities can get a 9-day pass for $19.60
First pitch, 6:00 p.m. CDT next Friday, August 14, 2009. Click logo for official website and more details.