Basketball Tournament Comes To Radford

You may not think basketball and religion don’t have a lot  in common but when you put them together, it’s shaking things up on and off the court. A 3-on-3 basketball tournament organized by the “National Hoops Ministries”  was created to spread the gospel to teens in need of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Kevin Meadows is the youth pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Radford, which is where the tournament took place this weekend. “We as Christians have a responsibility to share the gospel especially with the next generation. People complain about the next generation but do too much and so we are,” he said.Meadows also says teens of today have unique challenges. “Kids are going through so much these days and it’s so important they have a relationship with God. Some of them don’t know what it’s like to have a relationship with a parent and they need to know Christ is there for them,” he said.

For more information on the National Hoops Ministries, click here.

Basketball: 3 on 3 Tournament Registering Now

(April 22, 2012) – D1 Sports Athletics is registering teams for a 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament for boys and girls ages 9-16 to be held June 2 at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg.

There will also be a 3-point shooting competition, slam dunk contest along with food and prizes. View the flyer or check out the D1 Sports Athletics website for more information.

Little Guy in a Tie’s Best Bets – Las Cruces Sun

Click photo to enlarge

LAS CRUCES —The weekend is nearly here and it’s shaping up to be beautiful. Expect temperatures to reach the high 80s, maybe even the low 90s, with plenty of sun, a 0 percent chance of rain (according to weather.com) and most importantly, no wind!!! After participating outside in the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament last Saturday, I’ve had my share of wind for the rest of the year.

There’s plenty going on this weekend, no matter where your interests lie. Below, I’ve put together some of my favorite things happening, with help from the staff of the Sun-News.

Please follow my blog at http://littleguyinatie.wordpress.com to get the inside scoop on other events happening in our community. And please, please, please send your photos of this weekend’s events to lpeerman@lcsun-news.com and we’ll post in our reader-submitted galleries on the Sun-News website and on our Facebook page and we may even post your photo in Thursday’s community page in the print edition of the Las Cruces Sun-News (yes, we still put out a print edition).

Without further adieu, here’s this weekend’s Best Bets:

THE NEXT BIG THING

Up-and-coming country music artist and Las Cruces native Bri Bagwell has been busy since her

stint on “CMT’s Next Superstar” last summer:

— She has independently released her debut album “Banned from Santa Fe.”

— She launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the production of a video and promotion of her album and tour.

— She’s produced the video for her single — a piano ballad titled “Whiskey.”

— If that wasn’t enough to keep a girl busy, she announced a booking deal with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment last week that touts a big-name roster, including Taylor Swift, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and LeAnn Rimes.

Way to go, Bri! She’s as talented as she is gorgeous. You can see Bri perform Saturday at the Rio Grande Theatre and check out the debut of her video “Whiskey.”

The show begins at 7 p.m., but don’t wait till then to get your tickets. Purchase a ticket for $20 at Treasures of Las Cruces (owned by Bri’s mom), 2001 E. Lohman Ave., or call (575) 524-1249 or go to bribagwell.com for details.

BARRELS AND BLUES

St. Clair Winery and Bistro is hosting the first Barrels and Blues Wine Festival this weekend. The three-day festival kicks off at 7 p.m. tonight at its Las Cruces location, 1720 Avenida de Mesilla.

For the past several years, the Barrels and Blues Wine Festival has been an annual event at the Albuquerque winery. Now that the Las Cruces location has a larger space, it’s time to bring the fun down south.

“This will be an annual event based around music and food,” said Zan Steinberg, general manager of St. Clair Winery and Bistro.

Tickets are $15 for one day or $25 for an all-weekend pass. Each guest receives a complementary wine glass to sample six wines made by St. Clair. A menu created especially for the wine festival will offer easy-to-eat foods.

Las Cruces musician C.W. Ayon — one of the best blues performers in the state — will be on stage from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

GET YOUR BOOK ON

The 18th annual Border Book Festival, which began Thursday, will go through Sunday at sites in Mesilla. This year’s theme is “The Shamanic Journey/La Jornada Chamánica.”

Events will include talks by noted healers, a panel discussion, a gala fundraising gourmet dinner, plant exchanges, book signings, readings and arts and cultural workshops.

Books by festival authors will be on sale all weekend at La Tiendita in the Cultural Center de Mesilla.

NATIONAL PARK WEEK (FREE!)

April 21-29 is National Park Week. During the week, all 397 National Park properties (parks, monuments, etc.) will offer free admission. How cool is that?

We have some wonderful National Park-managed sites in New Mexico, including Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands and Gila Cliff Dwellings. Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend may be in Texas, but they are still both enchanting places to visit.

CELEBRATE THE EARTH

The Organization of Aggie Students Inspiring Sustainability (OASIS) will host the fifth annual Earth Day Festival from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Young Park.

The festival is family-friendly event that is free and open to the public. The purpose of the event is to bring the local community together to learn and discuss issues of sustainability.

The festival will include educational booths, commercial booths and local food vendors. There will be live music all day long, as well as yoga, a belly dancing performance and other entertainment. Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima will provide an opening address.

VHS Students Create "Hoops for Henryville" Tournament to Raise Funds for …

A group of Valparaiso High School seniors took action in response to the devastating storms that hit Henryville, Indiana on March 2nd, by creating a 3-on-3 basketball tournament to help raise funds for fellow Hoosiers in need.

The idea for “Hoops for Henryville” came soon after Phillip Russell, a senior at VHS, learned about the tornado outbreak taking place in the southern Indiana and Kentucky region.

“We have family down in Kentucky and I have some friends from camps down in Southern Indiana,” explained Russell, the key organizer of Hoops for Henryville. “I had been keeping track of the storms, and I had heard a school got hit pretty hard. The German Club had been looking for a fundraiser, and we just kind of came up with the idea.”

Choosing a charity basketball tournament as a way for Hoosiers to help Hoosiers certainly came into play when coming up with a fun way to do some good. “[The VHS Language Clubs] put on an ‘international’ soccer tournament as a fundraiser, so we were looking for something like that to do, because it’s a big hit. Obviously a ton of people like basketball.”

Over 100 people across 26 teams teams entered the tournament, with each player contributing $5 to the fundraiser as admission. The event was open to all students and faculty members, though several members of the community came to support the cause. Non-student teams were led by former Vikings stars like Scott Martin, who brought a few fellow Notre Dame basketball players with him, and Brent Kimmel, who formed a faculty team along with VHS stars like Ben Lieske and Jeanette Gray.

Many different groups at VHS, along with several company sponsors, have also come together for Hoops for Henryville, helping the fundraiser exceed its $3,000 goal heading into the day. “Different classes have sponsored, the IPR class (Interpersonal Relations) has been baking all week, so we’ve been raising money all week. It’s been a school-wide effort,” explained Russell.

There are also “Hoops for Henryville” t-shirts available, and several local businesses donated funds for the tournament.

The Hoops for Henryville fundraising will continue on Monday at the newly-opened Applebee’s in Valparaiso as well. Russell has coupons available, where 15% of your bill at Applebee’s will go directly to the cause. If you’re interested in one of these coupons, contact Phillip Russell at russ821@frontier.com

A special thank you goes to the corporate sponsors of the event, which included Centier, Don Qujiote Restaurant, Ortho Inc., Stevenson Fairchild OMS, Family Express, McAfee Animal Hospital, McDonald’s, BP, Town Country, and Pharma-Card.

If you’re interesting in donating to the Hoops for Henryville fundraiser or purchasing a t-shirt for $15, contact Phillip Russell at 219.309.0209 or at russ821@frontier.com.

Avoca Summer Classic: Mission accomplished, Frankie

Last Wednesday April 11th would have been my friend Frankie Rundell’s 42nd birthday.

Frankie was taken from us on December 27th 2001 following an automobile accident while driving home from a bowling league in Hornell.

Even though it’s been 11 years since he passed away not a day goes by where I don’t think about him in some way shape or form.

Frankie and I were the same in many ways however we were also quite different.

The common bond that stood out the most between us was our Love for the game of basketball.

Even though we were 10 years apart age wise we both loved to play and watch basketball and when we spent time together 90% of the time there was basketball involved.

Frankie was a starter on the Avoca team that made it all the way to the NYSPHSAA State Final Four in 1988 before losing in the Semi-Finals. Frankie’s love for the game didn’t end after high school he continued playing on a regular basis after graduation and in most people’s eyes got much better after his high school playing days had passed.

We began playing basketball together at the local park in Avoca  a few years before he passed away. We also watched a lot of basketball together on TV and right up until he passed away we had attended several high school games. Frankie was a “Coach” in the stands and would often give very colorful “Play-by-Play” in my ear during the games.
 
One significant thing happened to me while attending a game in Avoca about 3 weeks before Frankie left us.

While at a Varsity contest in Avoca with Frankie, we were leaving and I ran into a friend of mine who had just been hired to coach the Modified boys basketball team at Avoca, he asked me if I would be interested in becoming his assistant coach.

I had always dreamed about coaching basketball and this was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. I immediately accepted the offer and we walked away. Frankie instantly started picking on me as he often did: “What do you know about basketball?” “I think he asked the wrong guy to help him, what are you going to help him do? Babysit?”

It was all in good fun and I expected it.

Unfortunately he passed away before the season even started and I was never able to share stories or bring him in to help. Two years later I was hired as the Head Modified Coach at Avoca, the only thing missing was my assistant Coach.
 
That August the Inaugural Frankie Rundell Memorial 3-on-3 Tournament was held in the Parking Lot at Avoca Central School.

I’d tossed around idea after idea on how I could honor my friend, and I found the perfect way to do it. Frankie and I both loved the game of basketball so what better way to honor his memory and raise money in the process and to do it with the game basketball, that’s just icing on the cake.

I was told I couldn’t do it, I was told it wouldn’t work in Avoca. I didn’t listen to the naysayers I simply used their words for motivation. The 2nd year of the tournament we broke the record for number of teams for tournaments that the company out of Rochester had held. I’m glad I didn’t listen to the naysayers — I’ve been able to accomplish so much for kids in the area through this basketball tournament. Including one of my favorite things, re-doing the basketball court where Frankie and I played basketball and naming it “Frankie Rundell Memorial court”  I’m glad I didn’t listen …
 
On August 4th this summer we will hold the 11th Annual Avoca Summer Classic 3-on-3 basketball tournament in memory of Frankie Rundell.

It’s very hard to believe that we’ve done 10 tournaments already. There are now thousands of T-Shirts around New York State that say “In Memory of Frankie Rundell”, every time I  see one It instantly puts a smile on my face.

My goal was to honor my friend and keep his memory alive.

Mission Accomplished.

 http://www.avocasummerclassic.com
 

Ron Boeddeker 3-on-3 tourney attracts 35 local teams

Jeremy Kjar drives to the hoop during the Elite Division championship game on Sunday.

Jimmy Owen rises above two defenders for a jump-shot in the semifinals of the Elite Division.

The Inaugural Ron Boeddeker Memorial 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament took place on Saturday and Sunday at Bishop Diego High School. Thirty-five local teams and over 140 athletes took to the court to compete in tribute of long time Bishop supporter and basketball junkie Ron Boeddeker.

More than 100 games were played over the two days. At the end, Team Skirts topped Studio Engineers for the championship in the Elite Division. Willie Reese, Jeremy Kjar and Jimmy Owens combined to make up Team Skirts, which defeated a team consisting of Chris Hangtin, Jeff Sofro, David Goss and Eric Engmyr.

In the high school division, teams from Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara and Bishop competed with the Cardinals’ trio of Thomas Lash, Caleb Ricci and Jack Baker taking home the top prize.

The Boeddeker Family presented the champions with their awards on Sunday.

The tournament also featured a junior high division with teams from Notre Dame, Garden Street Academy, Santa Barbara Junior High and St. Raphael School.

The top junior high team was comprised of Taylor Padilla, Anthony Marsango, Junior Garcia and Matthew Cordero.

The corporate division victors hailed from the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

Proceeds from the tournament benefit the Red Bird Foundation – a cause that was close to Boeddeker’s heart – which helps deserving students attend Bishop Diego.

Many of Boeddeker’s family attended the tournament, including Kitty Boeddeker (wife of Ron), Kathy Harrison (daughter), Jeff Harrison, Mark Boeddeker (son), Matt Boeddeker (son), Cary Krukowski (daughter), and Tim Krukowski.

Junior HS Division 

Vipers
Victor Garcia Jr.
Taylor Padilla
Matthew Cordero
Anthony Marsango 

HS DIVISION CO-CHAMPIONS

Team Claudia Lash
Thomas Lash
Caleb Richie
Jack Baker

Team Pearson
Christian Pearson
Jayson Williams
James Stevens
Grant Sexton

CORPORATE CHAMPIONSHIP

SB City Fire         def.             Joe Murillo Plumbing
Jeff Young                                           Joe Murillo
Alex Kargbo                                        Alan Lash
Buck Lindelof                                     Willie Glover
Ryan DiGuillo

ADULT ELITE CHAMPIONSHIP

Team Skirts        def.            Studio Engineers
Jeremy Kjar                                        Chris Hangtin
Jimmy Owens                                    Jeff Sofro
Willie Reese                                       David Goss
                                                       Eric Engmyr

Chris Hangtin takes a contested jump shot during Sunday’s championship game.

Sallies basketball tourney to raise funds for paralyzed alum

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Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament coming to Chesaning, June 23-24 – The Saginaw News

View full sizeMark Ervin

CHESANING, MI — Mark Ervin isn’t sure what to expect, other than full hotels, campgrounds and restaurants.

And a closed state highway.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, downtown Chesaning will have a distinctive sound to it as the first Chesaning Gus Macker begins on M-57.

“We have a beautiful downtown … a great setup for a Macker tournament,” Ervin said. “The downtown streets are perfect, and we’re going to be able to shut it off to traffic.”

Ervin, 41, began working on bringing the Macker 3-on-3 Tournament to Chesaning after watching his son, 15-year-old Harrison, and daughter, 17-year-old Madeline, play in Gus Mackers last year.

“It was so much fun,” Ervin said. “My son played in the Greenville tournament. It was a great tournament, but when I looked at Greenville and looked at Chesaning, I thought there was no reason Chesaning couldn’t have a great Macker too.”

Meantime, organizers led by Ziggy Kozicki plan to bring the Macker back to Saginaw in 2013.

“It’s a great setting, a little different than Saginaw,” said Gus Macker founder and president Scott McNeal.
“We were excited when we heard they were interested. It’s the first
year, so we’re not real sure what to expect, numbers-wise.

“Saginaw is bigger, more parking lots, a more city setting. This is a small-town setting.”

Ervin, who lives in Chesaning, hopes to get up to 150 teams, with plenty of spectators to enjoy the tournament.

“If we didn’t have a town that I thought would do a nice family-friendly event, I wouldn’t even consider it,” Ervin said. “We’ve got a great campground a couple blocks from the event. We’ve got great restaurants, Showboat Park, hotels … everything is set up for a nice tournament.”

Anyone interested in playing in the Chesaning Macker can register at macker.com.

“All of the businesses were enthused,” Ervin said. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be great.

“The first year, I’d love to have 300 teams, but I try to be realistic. When we met with (Macker founder) Scott (McNeal), he said would could get close to 200 teams. There are a bunch of communities around Chesaning that love basketball but don’t have anything like a Macker, places like Freeland, Hemlock, Owosso, Perry, Clio, Swan Valley.

“This is a perfect place for this tournament.”

The tournament will coincide with the Mexican-American Festival in Chesaning.

“We didn’t set it up that way,” Ervin said. “The Macker doesn’t have any ties to the Mexican-American Festival, but it just adds one more event. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on in Chesaning.”

Photo: Greek Week

Greek Week began Monday with four teams competing for the win. The teams, black, green, red and gold, are composed of all of the fraternities and sororities on the ASU campus.

On Monday, there were opening ceremonies at 8 p.m. with a trivia competition.

On Tuesday, there was a scavenger hunt around the ASU campus. On Wednesday, there was a costume contest, with 3-on-3 basketball, dodgeball and other competitions between the teams. The week will end with one winner announced between the four teams.

Hoops tourney coming to Iowa State Capitol

AMES — Registration is open for the 2012 Iowa Games Hoopin’ At The Dome 3-on-3 basketball tournament set for May 5 in Des Moines.

The annual tournament, played in the shadow of the Iowa State Capitol, showcases youth and adults from across the state. Last year 415 athletes on 85 teams took part in the tournament.

“Hoopin’ At The Dome isn’t your typical basketball tournament,” said Kim Abels, sports and special events director. “There are very few 3-on-3 tournaments offered and this is unique because it is played outdoors. With music playing, it is fun for all players and spectators.”

The cost of the tournament is $85 per team and registration may be completed online through Monday. All players receive a T-shirt, and trophies are awarded to the top two teams in each age/gender division.

Hoopin’ At The Dome offers the following divisions of play in both male and female categories: Fourth through 12th grades, 18 and over, as well as 25 and over and 30 and over for males. Grade divisions are based on the 2011-2012 school year.

The Iowa Games will be offering a wheelchair division sponsored by Adaptive Sports Iowa. The divisions will help to serve physically disabled athletes across the state. Players can register as individuals.

The 2012 Hoopin’ At The Dome tournament is sponsored by U.S. Bank and hosted by the Iowa Games and Des Moines Parks Recreation.