Baseball League

On a sunny fall Wednesday, young girls kick soccer balls at Howard County Park in Glenwood as a flock of geese squawk overhead, flying south.Then out-of-season noises erupt. "Clink." "Throw it home!" "Four! Four!"Timmy Siders, 11, rounds third, legs pumping, arms flailing, barely beating the tag at home plate.These are the kids of October, still at home with this summer game amid the dying leaves of fall.Siders plays infield for the Western Howard Renegades, an under-12 fall baseball team.

Mike Stone, the United Baseball League's chief operating officer, spoke with the Sun's Jamison Hensley about the new league, which will begin play in March 1996.Q: Who first came up with the idea for the United Baseball League?A: It started when former congressman Bob Mrazek wanted to bring baseball back as family entertainment. He spoke with congressman John Bryant of Texas and they pursued it further with economist Andy Zimbalist. Then they decided to get a tie to baseball and enlisted Dick Moss.

The game of baseball lost a great coach and community worker Wednesday when James Marc Rickels of Sykesville was fatally struck by lightning after a Little League game, friends and league officials said yesterday."

Sandi McFadden stresses Academics, athleticsWhen commencement speaker Sandi McFadden addresses the fifth-grade class of Dr. Rayner Browne Elementary School next month, she will stress the importance of integrating mind, body and spirit into one vital entity."

HIALEAH, Fla. -- The members of the Women's Baseball League of Florida play for the same reasons men play the game. And for more.Each Sunday on a field named for a Cuban martyr, the democracy of sport offers baseball to those who might have missed the opportunity in days of gender-based prohibitions.To a woman, they say they always wanted to play baseball. But most will add that they didn't get to play as kids because girls played softball.Joanne Housman was one of those born too soon. At 31, she has learned it's not too late to fulfill a desire.

Reading Time: Two Minutes.You have to wonder just what's going on in the Adams Division of the NHL. During the past three weeks, clubs from the division that will have three of its teams rack up at least 100 points this season have taken on the wildly inconsistent Washington Capitals and ended up being hammered by lopsided scores of 5-2, 3-1, 5-1 and last night's 4-1 surrender by Buffalo.The Caps, who are only 11-18-2 in the Patrick Division, have feasted on foes from the Adams, going 12-5-2, including 8-0-1 at home.

City plans children's baseball leagueYoung baseball stars in Annapolis could be playing for a league of their own as early as this summer.City officials are teaming up to organize a baseball league for children ages 9 to 16 for the first time in a decade. Ed Stubbs, a Hillsmere resident who has coached baseball for years, will run the league.The city has offered to contribute about $7,000 to defray the cost of equipment and hiring umpires for the Annapolis City Pony League. Another $6,500 would go toward building a baseball diamond behind the old Wiley H. Bates High School, said City Administrator Michael Mallinoff.

Joe Lomascolo may not be able to throw the way he did 18 years ago as a pitcher at the University of South Florida, but the Columbia resident can still excel on the baseball field.Lomascolo, 39, and 12 other players of the Columbia Cardinals, an age 30-and-older baseball team, will compete this weekend in the men's senior baseball league invitational tournament in Hagerstown and Frederick. The Cardinals, made up of former high school and college players ranging in age from 30 to their mid-40s, play in the Howard County Plus 30 baseball league.

Two new youth baseball programs are in the lineup as the spring and summer baseball and softball seasons come to bat.The newly-formedCentral Maryland Travel Baseball League, for youths ages 8 to 14, began play Sunday. The league, with six Carroll County clubs and three from out-of-county, offers play in four age divisions.Another new enterprise, the Carroll County Baseball Club, a groupformed by representatives of several local youth baseball organizations, will enter four teams -- using the Carroll County Rangers moniker -- in the Baltimore Metro League.

The Lake Shore Youth Baseball League had to shut off the flow of youngsters trying to register this year. The Mountain Road Optimist Soccer League began setting up makeshift fields wherever officials could find 100 yards or so of open grass.As development mushroomed on the Pasadena peninsula over the last 10 years, so did the crowds of youngsters straining the capacity of the two leagues and the Lake ShoreAthletic Association -- the three largest youth sports groups. And they have finally reached the breaking point.

Awards Spoiler alert: Don't read this if you plan to watch ESPYs Swimmer Michael Phelps, a Rodgers Forge native and Fells Point resident, set an ESPYs single-year record Wednesday night in Los Angeles by winning five awards: Best Male Athlete, Best Championship Performance, Best Record-Breaking Performance, Best Moment (as part of the 1,600-meter Olympic relay) and Best U.S. Male Olympian. PGA standout Tiger Woods, who had received Best Male Athlete the previous five years, had held the single-year record with four awards.

Baseball Registration open -- Savage Boys and Girls Club spring registration is open for recreational baseball and softball. The club holds evaluations to form balanced teams; players of all skill levels are welcome. Volunteer coaches are also needed. www.SavageBGC.org. Seeking players -- Chesapeake Men's Senior Baseball League is seeking teams and players for its adult baseball league's 25+ and 38+ divisions. To be placed in a player pool and assigned to a team: www.chesa peakemsbl.com.

Baseball Registration open -- Savage Boys and Girls Club spring registration is open for recreational baseball and softball. The club holds evaluations to form balanced teams; players of all skill levels are welcome. Volunteer coaches are also needed. www.SavageBGC.org. Seeking players -- The Chesapeake Men's Senior Baseball League is seeking teams and players for its adult baseball league's 25+ and 38+ divisions. To be placed in a player pool and assigned to a team: www.chesapeakemsbl.

PETAH TIKVA, Israel -- In this land that is holy for Jews, Muslims and Christians, Benjamin Engelhart is hoping to find believers in America's favorite pastime: baseball. The 26-year-old switch-hitter from Silver Spring took to the field last month to play in Israel's first professional baseball league. A bold new experiment to export hardball to the United States' closest Middle East ally, the Israel Baseball League is the latest evidence of the steady Americanization of the Jewish state.

The 2007 League of Dreams will open its baseball and softball season today for children and teen-agers with physical or mental disabilities. The first games will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Rockdale Park, 3326 N. Rolling Road, near Liberty Road and the Interstate 695 in Baltimore County. Participants from the Baltimore area may register any time for $20, and games will be played every Saturday. The league recommends players be between the ages of 5 and 18. The league is organized by the Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks' therapeutic division.

Men's baseball -- The Chesapeake Men's Senior Baseball League is inviting teams and individual players to join its Adult Baseball League. New members are needed in 25+ and 35+ age brackets. Games are played Tuesday or Thursday nights and every Sunday (except Mother's Day, Memorial Day and July 4), from mid-April to August. The league holds an All-Star Game during the July 4 weekend. Many of the league's teams participate in regional and national tournaments at the end of the regular season.

Benjamin Huxtable got his first plastic baseball bat at 6 months, and by this spring he was showing a knack for the sport in the T-ball games sponsored by a local rec council. On Father's Day, the 4-year-old was just where he wanted to be: at a baseball diamond in Baltimore County, sticking close by as his dad warmed up for an adult amateur baseball league game. That's when a ball flew over the father's head and struck the boy in the chest. "Daddy!" Benjamin yelled, his eyes wide as he ran toward his father.

John Moore works tough hours - 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. four days a week driving a delivery truck for Stroehmann Bakeries. The Glen Burnie resident often goes to bed no later than 8 p.m. so he can awaken by 1 a.m. and get to work in the middle of the night. He has done that for about 18 years. Still, at 58, Moore makes room for baseball and softball - at least 20 hours a week. He's in his 25th year as president of the Glen Burnie Boys Baseball League Inc., which also operates the Glen Burnie Girls Softball League.

A new college-age summer baseball league has been formed by six of Maryland's top amateur teams and will be called the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. The league reached an agreement with the Ripken Foundation to honor Cal Sr. for his dedication to the development of young players. Composed of players age 22 and under, the league will consist of the Bethesda Big Train, College Park Maryland Bombers, Maryland Redbirds (Towson), Rockville Express, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts and Youse's Maryland Orioles of Baltimore.

It's going to be a long day for more than 250 kids and parents from the Northwood Baseball League Inc., who are headed to Cooperstown, N.Y., on Sunday to watch Eddie Murray get inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The trip will be a marathon event, beginning with a 5-hour, 48-minute bus ride that is scheduled to depart Baltimore at 3:30 a.m. After the festivities, the buses will return Sunday night. Del. Curtis Anderson, representing District 43, put together the event to pay tribute to Murray.