KFDM COOP

Estes shines for Bears in first varsity season Gabe Pruett The Orange Leader LITTLE CYPRESS — Little Cypress-Mauriceville Battlin’ Bears Coach Steve Griffith goes into each season knowing who the stars will be and on a search for one or two surprises. It did not take him long this season to find a huge surprise in Wade Estes. How about batting .368 with 11 RBI and a .569 on-base-percentage from a guy who bats in the No. 7 spot and was on JV last season? “We always look to see who the guys on that might be coming up and be able to help on varsity,†Griffith said. “He was off the radar after last year. He came into the off-season and worked real hard. Now he is our designated hitter and moves to the infield when certain guys are pitching. It was not a fluke because Wade worked his way into our lineup and when he got there — he got the job done.†Estes joked Griffith took a chance on him earlier this season and now he is saving his coach’s job. “Nah, he was never in any trouble before I came around,†Estes said. “It is an accomplishment to be able to start for the Bears. It is nice to work hard enough to deserve to start. It means a lot to me because Coach Griff has the trust in me to start, keep me there and feel I can get the job done.†Now Estes will try to continue his success in the Class 4A Region III area round against Lamar Consolidated. Game 1 will be at 7 p.m. tonight at Galena Park North Shore. Game 2 will be at 5:30 p.m. Friday with Game 3, if necessary, to follow. Griffith just hopes his designated hitter does not go into a slump because he is finally being given some recognition. “He will continue to be important this weekend unless he has some kind of Sports Illustrated jinx,†Griffith said. “I just don’t see that happening with Wade though.†Estes had one of the most exciting plays this weekend against the Huffman Falcons as the Bears won Games 2 and 3 at Don Gibbons Field to move on. Estes laid down a perfect squeeze bunt with Stefan Cloeren on third in the top of the third inning in Game 3 to put the Bears up for good. “I was really nervous,†Estes said. “I got a pitch I could handle but I was still nervous. It was a relief when it was successful. It’s a play where I am either the hero or the goat. I wanted to do my best at it because Coach Griff would not have been happy if I failed.†Estes knows what the Bears (24-8) are going to have to do to take down the Mustangs, the champions out of 24-4A with a 22-6 mark. “Lamar Consolidated is a real good team,†Estes said. “We are going to have to play good baseball and be error-free. I like the challenge of playing a great team because when you do when it gives you even more momentum. We want to put all the pressure on those guys because we think we can play against anyone. We have a lot of talent here on this team. Everyone seems to be clicking and everyone played a big part in last weekend’s win. That is exactly what it is going to take to move on even further.†Griffith knows with a guy like Estes, his team does have a chance to be successful in this round. “Part of the story is he was able to get better and get on the team,†Griffith said. “The other big part is that he is here to stay. Everyone season there is a surprise on your team and Wade Estes is our surprise. He comes from a great family and he along with them are some of the best people in the world.â€

Scholarship penalty means Roc unable to sign big man Bob West column for Thursday, May 8 The Port Arthur News Don’t hold your breath hoping Lamar University basketball coach Steve Roccaforte is going to sign a big man to enhance the Cardinals chances of wining another Southland Conference championship next year. Roccaforte, as a result of the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report announced this week, won’t be able to bring in a big man, a guard or anybody else. Lamar is being docked two scholarships for coming in below the mandated minimum on academic progress. Contrary to published reports, however, the Cardinals probably won’t be operating with 11 scholarships next season. Anybody who is already on scholarship, including three players signed in the early period — guards Brandon Moton, Skyler Williams and Charlie Harper — will be able to play next season. Lamar has nine scholarship players returning, so, unless somebody leaves, it will have 12 players on scholarship. If a player expected to return next year does leave, Roccaforte wouldn’t be able to replace him and the Cardinals would have to go with 11 scholarship players. If all 12 players on scholarship as of now are with Lamar for the 2008-09 season, it would lose the second scholarship in the 2009-10 season. Roccaforte wouldn’t comment on who the players were that caused Lamar to come up short on the APR. He did point out that after Saturday, when Darren Hopkins, Lamar Sanders and Currye Todd graduate, he will be six-for-six in seniors getting diplomas since he became head coach. The scores the NCAA used to determine the latest APR covered academic performance from 2003-07. Athletes earn one point for remaining academically eligible each semester and another point each semester they remain at the school, accumulating a maximum of four points each year. Schools lose points when players leave without graduating. In Lamar’s case, it is believed to have been penalized over three players, including 7-footer James Davis, who left school or were kicked off the team, and one, Alan Daniels, who departed in the middle of a semester for an opportunity in professional basketball overseas. One of the Lamar players involved underscores how poorly conceived the APR legislation is. This particular player was caught smoking marijuana shortly after school began two years ago. He was promptly suspended from the team and opted to quit school and go home. Roccaforte would have been better off under APR guidelines to look the other way and keep the player on the team so as to not be penalized at the end of the year. He opted to do the right thing and wound up losing APR points. Over 20 Texas Division 1 programs were penalized with scholarship losses, although curiously none of the state’s major schools apparently got hit. Roccaforte said that’s because those schools have full time staff who do nothing but work on appeals and seek waivers. That might explain why the University of Texas, with the lowest football graduation rate in the Big 12, as well as a bulging list of arrests that took players out of school, didn’t lose any scholarships. LU athletic director Billy Tubbs said the school appealed its case to the NCAA but got turned down. Tubbs also said he thinks Lamar’s coaches and academic advisors are doing an excellent job within their means, and that mid majors are getting hit hardest because the APR is ultimately about finances. “The BCS schools are spending lots of money on extra tutors and academic advisors,†Tubbs said. “We spend what we can but obviously we can’t match what the bigger schools are doing. To deal with this, mid majors are going to have to spend double and triple what they have budgeted for academics. “The thing is, some kids are going to leave school and you just can’t do anything about it. So it becomes increasingly important to recruit people who are inclined to stay in school, go to class, pass and graduate.†A major inequity of the current system is how it punishes new coaches for the shortcomings of athletes they had nothing to do with. The classic example of that is Todd Dodge at the University of North Texas. Dodge, who didn’t become the head football coach at North Texas until last spring, has been informed he’s losing five scholarships. Those deficiencies, of course, are directly tied to the previous regime at UNT. “There’s nothing fair about that,†Tubbs said. “That’s one of the reasons I think this is a bad rule. The NCAA didn’t fully understand it when they put it in and they are going to have to tweak it as they go. I read where (NCAA president) Elton Brand admitted there is a problem where new coaches are concerned. “It’s just something we are going to have to live with and adjust to as best we can. I’m not happy about losing two scholarships but I honestly think we are doing a good job with our student athletes. I’m proud of our academic record. I would be surprised if it’s not the best in the Southland Conference.†Roccaforte, meanwhile, will have to make do with the remaining players from his 19-11 Southland Conference co-champs, and the three early signees. That means the biggest question mark surrounding the 2008-09 Cardinals will be defending in the paint and rebounding. Returning inside players include 6-7 senior Jay Brown, 6-7 senior Tristan Worrell, 6-6 senior Justin Nabors and little used 6-10 sophomore Coy Custer. Other than Nabors, who averaged 6.5 rebounds, none of the aforementioned group grabbed as many as two rebounds per game. That doesn’t mean the Cardinals can’t or won’t win again. But it does mean it’s going to be considerably tougher.

Harrington, Tribe roll in Game 1 By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News NEW CANEY — It is doubtful that Port Neches-Groves' Eric Harrington is a prophet or the son of a prophet, but he is a very good pitcher with incredible instincts. On Tuesday, Harrington joked with coaches in the principal's office that he would need just 85 pitches to beat Katy Seven Lakes in Game 1 on Wednesday night at Adam Dunn Field. Harrington was exactly right. The senior ace struck out Derek Draper in the bottom of the seventh to increase his pitch count to 85 and end the ball game at 5-0 in favor of the Tribe. With the win, PN-G improves to 22-5 on the year and will be back in action at 5 p.m. on Friday for Game 2 in New Caney. If it is necessary, Game 3 will follow Game 2. But if Game 2 comes as easy as Game 1 did, the Indians will be making arrangements for round four of the Class 4A baseball playoffs. Harrington said he knew he had 12 pitches to work with going into the seventh inning, but didn't think much of it until he had Draper down 0-2 and sitting at 83. "I looked over at coach and he just smiled and said no way," Harrington added. Draper fouled the next pitch off to give Harrington 84. Then the senior gave Draper the ole "Uncle Charlie" to get his number and his ninth strikeout of the ball game. Harrington, who induced a ground ball for the first out in the seventh and struck out Jake Pinchback for the second out, also improved his record to 8-0 on the season. "He's just a real bulldog on the mound," said PN-G head coach Jay Stone. "He's the ultimate competitor and he really challenges himself every time he steps on the field." The only mark against Harrington on Wednesday night was his 0-for-5 performance at the plate. His batting line was hardly an issue, however, as PN-G draped 10 hits all over the field to pick up five runs. Four of the five runs came in the third inning off Katy's Nathan LeBlanc. LeBlanc started and got the loss, tossing three innings while giving up five runs on six hits. He also walked four. Running for catcher Jon Carnahan, who drew a walk with nobody out in the third, Nathan Minshew advanced to third on a hit by Kane Beniot. Then, with one out and the bases loaded, Jacob Lynch reached first on an error that sent Minshew home, giving the Tribe a 2-0 advantage. Benoit and Mitchell Todd, who walked, both scored off a single from Jerin Spikes. Chris Sweetenham then singled to drive in Lynch for the Indians fourth run of the inning and fifth run of the game. Lynch also scored the Tribe's first run. He started the second inning off with a single, moved to second on after Spikes was plunked by a pitch, went to third on a sacrifice bunt from Sweetenham and then a sacrifice fly from Amir Jalali sent Lynch home for a 1-0 lead. The Indians did leave 10 runners on base, which left Stone in doubt about relieving Harrington early. "We definitely hit the ball well," Stone said. "I thought we left too many runs out there. We left too many on base. I've seen this team (Seven Lakes) hit the ball and I know they are capable of scoring five runs in an inning." Stone said with that kind of offensive threat, a 5-0 lead wasn't enough of a cushion to sit his ace. "He will be fine," Stone said about Harrington. "We have a day off and he only threw 85 pitches, so we know we can get two or three innings out of him if we had to on Friday. He's that kind of pitcher." Stone added that his club has seven capable arms in waiting, but did not know who would get the ball to start Game 2. Stone also said he knows the Spartans still have plenty of arms as well. "I don't think we've seen their best," he said. "And they lost their first game last week and came back strong in Game 2 and 3. I don't think we saw either of their top-two guys to tell you the truth." Stone said Zach Voss is probably the Spartans best pitcher. He is 7-1 on the year but played first base on Wednesday. Voss was also one of two players to record a hit off Harrington. With two outs in the first inning, Voss squirted a single past Todd at second base. Then Kyle Bacak picked up Seven Lakes' second and final hit of the game when he singled to lead off the second inning. Harrington hit one batter in the sixth inning and an error in the fourth allowed another runner to reach base. Aside from that, Katy only managed six base runners for the contest. Four of the six were left stranded. About the importance of winning Game 1, Stone said he would know how important Game 1 was after Game 2 on Friday. "It's always important to get a win," Stone said. "We know it's an advantage but we know it only means so much. We know what this team did last week, so we have to come out on Friday and continue to hit the ball and play good defense. "Overall, I am really pleased with our performance tonight. I would have liked to scored a few more runs but I am pleased."

Stros win again!! [Hidden Content]

Lord folks..That's ok i'll be there next time and i'll have the score.

Wow, big difference from what i was told.

Not sure

Broadcast is back [Hidden Content]

5-0 bottom 5th..broadcast will be back in a few

5-0 PN-G in the 5th.

Astros down in game 2

Seven Lakes is the Home team.

Mrs. Harrington on the air!! 8) Good interview..

Listen to broadcast here.. [Hidden Content]

5-0 PN-G in the 3rd.

4-0 PN-G 3rd Inn.

2-0 PN-G 3rd

1-0 PN-G in the 2nd.

0-0 after 1

Broadcast has started!

Hopefully we'll have some info soon.

Game broadcast will begin at 6:50 here on the site..Click link below at 6:50 to listen...Once link comes up scroll down just a little bit and under the Picture you'll see link to click on to listen.. [Hidden Content]

Thanks

Game broadcast will begin at 6:50 here on the site..Click link below at 6:50 to listen...Once link comes up scroll down just a little bit and under the Picture you'll see link to click on to listen.. [Hidden Content]