KFDM COOP

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I agree! Terrible on the 2A Rankings.

New Basketball Team Intends To Sign Contract With Ford Park KFDM News has learned a basketball team from the Texas Valley has signed a letter of intent to expand its basketball franchise to Beaumont at Ford Arena. Doctor Jordan Maswoswe is the owner of the Rio Grande Valley Silverados. He's looking to expand his team to Beaumont. The team is a part of the Continental Basketball Association. Ford Park's General Manager wants to wait before announcing the team's official name. Representatives of the team toured Ford Park and the Beaumont Civic Center last month. Now the owner has sent a letter of intent to enter into a contract with Ford Park. Ford Park's General Manager, John Hughes, says the team's owner is leaving behind a team in South Texas in which he was a minority owner. Hughes says part of the deal Ford Park negotiated with the owner is the team had to put behind any "debts" or what Hughes calls "baggage." Hughes says the two other owners of the Silverados owed debts of nearly $60,000, but Maswoswe has agreed to pay off their debt. Beaumont has a history of bringing in minor league teams. Usually those sports have die-hard fans but a small fan base. With two franchises that didn't work out at Ford Park, including the hockey team, the Wildcatters and the Drillers football team, we asked Hughes, will taxpayers be footing the bill? "No. We've said when we went through the Wildcatters scenario a few months back, the County and this building are not gonna get into another situation where we're subsidizing any type of tenant or sports organization in this building. It's a deal the building will make money on, but also a fair deal for the team," said Hughes. Hughes is planning to introduce the team's name, logo and new owner in the next few weeks. [Hidden Content]

WOS vs. Dayton Sat. Aug. 16 10:30 A.M. WO-S vs. Vidor Fri. Aug. 22 7PM Varsity

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8) 8) Thanks....Yea i have a sticky post at the top

Dayton no espanol

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Football practice cranks up Monday around the area Van Wade The Orange Leader The high school football season is inching closer and closer. However, before the season gets roll, all the area teams must go through their rigorous pre-season schedule. Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Vidor, Bridge City, Orangefield, West Orange-Stark and Deweyville will be breaking out the equipment soon. Here are the following workout schedules, scrimmages and opening dates for the six local high school squads: WO-S The Mustangs, who went 11-2 last year under long-time coach Dan Hooks, won their fourth straight district title and advanced to the Class 3A Division II Region III Semifinals, return six starters on offense and five on defense. All Mustang players must report at 8 a.m. to get equipment and will hit the field as soon as possible. They will have a second practice starting at 4 p.m. The rest of the week the Mustangs will start practice at 4 p.m. and will go to 5:30 p.m. They will have a break and then come back for a 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. workout. WO-S has two scrimmages slated, the first one at Dayon Aug. 16 and the second one at Vidor on Aug. 22. The Mustangs will open the 2008 campaign on the road Aug. 29 at former Class 4A rival Nederland. They will open District 21-3A play at home Oct. 10 against Silsbee. BRIDGE CITY The Cardinals, who went 0-10 in coach Cris Stump’s first season at the helm, look to turn things around in 2008 and have a whopping nine starters back on offense and eight on defense. Bridge City players will report at 7 a.m. to pick up equipment and will hit the field running at 8 a.m. The varsity will practice from 8 a.m.-9:30 a.m. followed by the freshman from 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m. The varsity will come back to practice again from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The Cardinals have two scrimmages lined up. They will host Lumberton Aug. 16 starting with the freshmen at 4 p.m. followed by the junior varsity and varsity. They will play host to Shepherd as well, which is tenatively set for Thursday Aug. 21. Bridge City will crank up the season on the road at Liberty on Aug. 29. It will open District 21-3A play Oct. 10 at Hardin-Jefferson. ORANGEFIELD The Bobcats, who went 3-7 last year under coach Blake Morrison, will welcome back five starters on offense and a solid eight on defense. The Bobcats will report Monday to the fieldhouse. Seniors and juniors will pick up their equipment at 3:30 p.m. followed by the freshmen and sophomores at 4 p.m. The Bobcats will immediately hit the practice field after equipment is issued out. Orangefield has a tri-scrimmage scheduled in Vidor Saturday, Aug. 16 against Vidor and Kirbyville and will play host to Huffman Thursday, Aug. 21. Orangefield will open its season at home Aug. 29 against Class 2A power East Chambers. The Bobcats start District 21-3A play Oct. 10 at Hamshire-Fannett. VIDOR The Pirates, who went 2-8 last year under long-time coach Jeff Mathews, return seven starters on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. The Pirates will pick up their equipment at 7:30 a.m. Monday and will hit the practice fields at 8 a.m. They will work out to about 12:20 p.m. with a couple breaks in between. Vidor will host Orangefield and Kirbyville in a tri-scrimmage Aug. 16 and will welcome WO-S Aug. 22. Vidor will open its season at home Aug. 29 against Beaumont Kelly. The Pirates start District 20-4A play Sept. 26 at Beaumont Central. DEWEYVILLE The Pirates, 4-6 a year ago, welcomes first-year head coach Russell McDaniel, who led New Diana to some playoff appearances. McDaniel will have the luxury of having seven starters back on both sides of the ball. The Pirates will report at 8 a.m. Monday. Once they get equipment they will hit the field and workout until 1:30 p.m. each day that first week in different intervals. The Pirates will scrimmage Aug. 16 at Kirbyville and will host Hull-Daisetta Aug. 21. The Pirates will entertain the Vinton Lions in their opener Aug. 29. They start District 23-2A play Sept. 26 at Anahuac. LC-M The Bears, who went 1-9 under fourth-year head coach Todd Moody, will wait another week to start practice after they had a successful spring practice. LC-M returns six starters on offense and two on defense. The Bears will pick up equipment Monday, Aug. 11 at a.m. and then hit the practice fields. LC-M has two scrimmages scheduled. The Bears will venture to Silsbee Aug. 23 with the freshmen starting at 9 a.m. followed by the JV and varsity and then they will welcome Baytown Lee Aug. 28 at Battlin’ Bear Stadium at 6 p.m. The Bears will open their season on the road Sept. 5 at WO-S. LC-M opens up District 20-4A action Sept. 26 at Port Neches-Groves.

That last 2 minutes was incredible.

They almost did! BUT

Oh my, How did you leave?

Great group there.

The Biggest Upset Of The Year Who do you think will pull off the biggest upset of the year and against who,reasons why,etc.

I'm glad to see Houston finally upgrading.

Let's hear it! Who wins this one?

Workouts commence Monday for gridders By Nick Cioci The Baytown Sun Published August 1, 2008 Ready or not, here it comes. Preaseason football practice begins Monday at many local area schools. For schools that had spring training, like Lee, Sterling and Crosby, drills start Aug. 11, in accordance with UIL rules. Barbers Hill will start every day at 7:58 a.m. and go to around 12:15 p.m. all week. The Eagles will have a break from 10 a.m. to10:45 a.m., where they will stay at the school and just refresh in the air-conditioning side. Barbers Hill head coach Don Price said he is looking at everything that first week. “I am looking to find kids positions that first week,†he said. “We are throwing a lot at them, so basically we’re just trying to get them to learn it all. We are trying to put everything we are running in the first five days.†Price is guessing he will have about 130 to 150 kids show up that first week. Goose Creek Memorial is starting the week on Monday by issuing equipment and lockers at 6:57 a.m. for sophomores and juniors and then going out and doing a conditioning test. After the conditioning test, the older Patriots will get a break while the freshmen go through the same thing. Following that around 10 a.m., the sophomores and juniors will practice for about two hours. From Tuesday through Friday, the Memorial sophomores and juniors will practice from 7 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. They will then have a break until 10 a.m. when they return to practice until noon. The practices Tuesday until Thursday will be at Stallworth Stadium. On Friday, they return home to their practice field. On Saturday at 7 a.m., the team will have picture day and then later that day at 10 a.m., the Patriots will have an intra-squad scrimmage for about an hour and a half. Goose Creek Memorial head coach Bret Boyd expects the first week to be a “getting to know everyone†period. “We have new coaches and kids so we are looking to fill positions,†he said. “It’s wide open and we will be evaluating them from the ground up.†Boyd expects to have about 160 players the first week. Baytown Christian Academy will start their week off on Monday from 9 a.m. to noon handing out equipment. Then from there the Bulldogs will go from 11:35 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday until Friday. They will get a break from 2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. every day. BCA head coach Donald Houser expects to work on everything during the camp. “I just want the kids to show up with an eagerness to learn,†he said. “We are going to put them in the heat and go through some rigorous work outs. So it will show us who enjoys the game.†Houser expects to go to a more traditional two-a-days on Saturday when BCA’s players will be at school from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will do a “hoot and holler†drill around noon that first Saturday that the parents are invited to. Houser said he hopes to have around 15 kids the first week of camp. Dayton will start the week at 7:30 a.m. on Monday and go until 1 p.m. The Broncos will get a break from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The Broncos will then follow this schedule the rest of the week. Bronco head coach Jerry Stewart hopes to polish up on everyone’s skills. “We will keep the conditioning program going they had over the summer,†said Stewart. “Also, we will work on special teams and special situation offenses and defenses.†Stewart hopes to see about 130 kids the first week. Save | Mail | Print | Letter

Nederland 14s add to BR mystique By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News The success Mid County has in its Babe Ruth baseball is almost so common place that it becomes hard to be impressed. However, in the last 12 years alone, there have been two local Babe Ruth World Series winners from all-star teams ranging from 13-16-years of age (1996 and 2004). Just last year, Nederland Babe Ruth sent a 15-year-old squad to the WS. The last two seasons, Mid County senior Babe Ruth has sent its 16-year-old teams to the WS. It would have been a third straight year for the 16s, which won a third straight Regional, but Babe Ruth elected to cancel the 16-year-old WS this season. After last weekend's results, the Nederland Babe Ruth 14-year-old all stars can be added to the coveted list teams to qualify for the WS. And this group just may have what it takes to add another championship banner. The 14s, made up of 10 Nederlanders, three from Port Neches-Groves and one player from West Brook, have absolutely destroyed their competition. Nederland has an 8-0 slate, having won four games in Wharton to claim the East Texas State Championship and four more games in Bryant, Ark. to claim the Southwest Regional Championship. Nederland has outhit its opponents 96-29 and outscored its opponents 101-18. Head coach Steven Pitts, who is the father of first baseman and pitcher, Jacob, said those numbers could be even more lopsided if Nederland had not backed off in several games. Nederland has had just one victory where it was held to just five runs. It was that same game where Nederland's margin of victory was less than five runs. That game was its last, a 5-3 victory over Bryant for the regional championship. Nederland trailed 2-0 in the contest before scoring five unanswered. Also in that contest, Trent Fontenot pitched a complete game and was named the tournament's most valuable player. Daniel Sparrow, the starting catcher, was the state tournament's most valuable player. By way of an interesting note, Sparrow is the younger brother of PN-G's Sammy Sparrow, who played with Nederland's 15-year-old Babe Ruth team that went to the WS last year. Sammy was also on this year's 16-year-old team. Jacob Pitts makes the third member of the Pitts family to be on a WS team. His cousin Clinton Pitts played on the 16-year-old club that went to the WS two years ago and older brother, Jordan, was named to the All World Series team last year as a 16-year-old. Rounding out the rest of Nederland's roster is second baseman Stephen Schlett, center fielder Gerran Freeman, shortstop Hunter Knox, third baseman Jordan Wood, pitcher Brett Brown, outfielder Daniel Atterberry, utility player David Conley, pitcher and outfielder Kohl Lasell, pitcher Corbin Carr, utility player Trey Broussard, pitcher Ryan Quinn and left fielder Justin Ridgaway. As of Thursday, Nederland was the only team to have clinched a spot in the WS bracket. The rest of the regional qualifiers have not been finished. The WS is set for Aug. 16-23 and will be in Quincy, Mass. where there will be 13 teams in all. The Babe Ruth League pays the cost of travel and host parents are provided for the players.

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www.texasprepinsider.com For UH the week has been big so far but it just got much bigger as they got a huge decommit in the form of A.J. Dugat the talented two-way star for the Dayton Broncos. This marks the top ranked player to commit to the Cougars this year. The recruitment of A.J. Dugat has taken a couple of wide swings this year and continued this week when he decommitted from TCU and committed to the University of Houston. In a previous conversation with Scout.com Dugat had said that the offer from UH "had my bells ringing". A.J. Had long made it known that UH was his favorite school however Texas Christian Univesity caught his attention early on and he committed to the Horned Frogs. During Dayton's Spring Practices A.J made a lot of schools take notice and got five offers in one week, including UH. Today before 1600, the Dayton coaches contacted Texasprepinsider to inform us of the switch in commits. Scout.com will have more on this tonight and later in the week.

Vidor swimmers rank high in own meet Van Wade The Orange Leader VIDOR — The Vidor Swim Team placed a superb second in their own Vidor Swim Meet last Saturday. VAST finished with 392 points to earn second. The Beaumont West End YMCA took first with a whopping 538 points. Spindletop Swimming was third with 311 and the Pinewood Swim Team was fourth with 199. The area championship meet will be held at L.L. Melton YMCA Saturday. Here are Vidor’s top finishers in the boys’ division: Eddie Dyess was third in the 9-10 100-meter intermeidaie with a time of 2:03.80. Vidor went 1-2-3 in the 7-8 25-meter freestyle as Williams Fawcett was first (22.53), Bridger Quirante second (22.73) and Joel Schiesler third (23.24). They did the trick again with a little different order in the 25-meter backstroke as Fawcett was first with a 27.54 followed by Garrett Healy (29.37) and Schiesler (30.28). Maverick Quirante won the 9-10 25-meter freestyle in 18.64. He also won the 25-meter backstroke in 24.82. Quirante was also second in the 25-meter butterfly (25.80) with teammate Garrett Warwick taking third (26.30). Chase Bunch placed second in the 11-12 50-meter freestyle in 38.93. Timothy Brown nabbed third in the 13-14 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:30.92. Garrett Healy won the 7-8 25-meter butterfly in 29.85 while teammate Fawcett was second with a 30.32. Healy also won the 25-meter breaststroke with a 35.10 and Bridger Quirante was third with a 37.82. Timothy Bahl captured first in the 6-and-under 25-meter backstroke with a 35.93. James Conner, Jr. placed third in the 11-12 50-meter backstroke in 55.56 and third in the 50-meter breaststroke (1:13.79). Taylor Roark was second in the 11-12 50-meter breaststroke (1:03.20). Here are Vidor’s top finishers in the girls’ division: Carly Bessire won the 9-10 100-meter intermeidiate in 1:44.51. She also nabbed first-place in the 25-meter freestyle in 18.59 and the 25-meter butterfly in 20.32 and also claimed the 25-yard breaststroke in 25.51. Bailey Rogers captured first in the 11-12 100-meter intermediate in 1:41.12 and also won the 50-meter butterfly in 45.70. She was second in the 50-yard breaststroke with a 48.52. Ala Duke was second in the 17-19 100-meter intermediate with a 1:53.26 and second in the 50-meter freestyle in 41.14 and second in the 17-19 50-meter backstroke (52.74). Mia Fawcett won the 6-and-under 25-meter freestyle in 37.81 seconds while teammate Camille Christman was second with a 43.40. They finished 1-2 again in the 25-meter backstroke as Fawcett won with as 42.94 while Christman was second with a 52.80. Zoe Bahl placed third in the 7-8 25-meter freestyle in 22.48 and third in the 25-meter backstroke with a 28.16 and second in the 25-meter breaststroke (40.98) Chelsie Stevenson was third in the 25-meter breaststroke with a 40.98. Paityn Warwick placed third in the 25-meter butterfly with a 38.59. Macy Fawcett claimed first in the 9-10 25-meter backstroke with a 22.63. Stephani Dyess won the 13-14 100-meter backstroke in 2:45.15. Britten Fawcett nabbed first in the 13-14 50-meter breaststroke with a 51.03 and teammate Kayla Lee was third with a 58.90. Vidor won the mixed 6-and-under 100-meter freestyle relay in 2:53.55 and also won the 10-and-under mixed 100-meter freestyle relay in 1:18.48 and the mixed 12-and-under 100-meter freestyle relay in 1:23.09 and were second in the 14-and-under mixed 100-meter freestyle relay in 1:15.33. They also won the 8-and-under 100-meter medley relay in 2:00.26 and were second in the mixed 10-and-under 100-meter medley relay with a 1:39.49. print this story email this story comment on this story • Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.

Week 10 Showdown!

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott announced today that he will oust the North Forest school board and the superintendent and appoint his own administration to run the long-troubled district. The drastic step will take place as soon as the state receives approval from the U.S. Department of Justice to remove the seven elected trustees. Scott plans to appoint three trustees — called a board of managers — in their place, plus a superintendent to replace interim Superintendent William Jones. The northeast Houston district, which serves about 8,000 mostly poor, minority students, is expected to start the new school year with an $11.8 million budget deficit, according to the Texas Education Agency. North Forest has had a TEA-appointed financial conservator on site since March 2007 and an academic overseer joined him in November. "It's unfortunate that this drastic action is necessary," Scott said in a written statement. "We have tried every intervention at our disposal except this one. "While our management team and agency employees have helped the district cut its deficit and improve its academic performance, the district remains in a very precarious position," Scott continued. "It is necessary for the Texas Education Agency to place a superintendent and board in the district to safeguard the educational environment for students." The TEA only has ousted two other school boards — in the Wilmer-Hutchins district outside Dallas in 2006 and in Kendleton in the early 1990s. School board President Tobie Ross Jr. said he did not have any immediate comment. The North Forest Independent School District has been in trouble with the TEA on and off for two decades because of serious academic and financial problems. The notoriously divided school board has fired or forced out four of its last five superintendents, most recently firing Superintendent James Simpson and paying him about $233,000 in severance. The board has twice tried to rehire Simpson, but the TEA conservators have used their power under state law to overrule the trustees. A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who has defended North Forest, said the congresswoman opposes the TEA's decision. In June, Scott placed North Forest on probation — which is one step short of closing the district. Scott said he hopes the board of managers, which has all the powers of a regularly elected school board, will stabilize the district so he is not forced to shut it down. The board of managers can remain for up to two years. [email protected]

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