Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2B
ASHWAY from IB
hit.
Nothing in sports com¬
pares to the drama that builds
as a pitcher pursues a no-hit¬
ter. He can’t run out the
clock, can’t take a knee, can’t
play it safe. He’s got to get
the last three outs.
So the Fenway Faithful
rose as one, held their
breaths, clasped their
rosaries and did all they
could to help pull him
through.
“The fans were great,
said Lester. “They were on
their feet yelling and scream¬
ing. It was probably one of
the loudest times I’ve heard
Fenway when I've been out
there pitching.”
That’s because it wasn’t
any pitcher out there on the
mound. It was Jon Lester,
Local Sports
2008 Sawnee
Mountain Panthers
cheerleading
registration
The Sawnee Mountain Panthers
will be holding their final recreational
cheerleading registration on Saturday,
May 31. Registration will be held at
the Sawnee Mountain Park communi¬
ty building from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Registration fee for cheerleading is
$275. Visit our website at
www.sawneemountainpanthers.org
for additional information or call
Tammy Ridings (VP of cheerleading)
at (770) 560-1293.
NFHS/Jim Cahill
baseball camp
North Forsyth Raiders coach Jim
Cahill will hold a summer baseball
camp for boys ages 12 and up from
Monday, June 2 - Thursday, June 5.
The cost is $150. A second camp will
be held Monday, June 9 - Wednesday,
June 1 1. The Cost is $100. Both
camps are conducted from 9 a.m. - 12
p.m. each day and a t-shirt is includ¬
ed.. For more information or to sign
up, contact James Parks at (770) 781 -
2215 orjparks@forsythco.com.
Soccer camp
A soccer camp for ages 9-14 will
be held June 2-6. Cost is $65. Call the
Cumming Recreation and Parks
Department for more information at
(770) 781-2030.
Bulldogs’ basketball
camp — boys only
A Bulldogs’ boys basketball camp
for ages 7-14 will be held June 9-13.
Cost is $65. Call the Cumming
Recreation and Parks Department for
more information at (770) 781-2030.
Bulldogs’ basketball
camp — girls only
A Bulldogs girls basketball camp
for ages 7-14 will be held June 16-20.
Cost is $65. Call the Cumming
Recreation and Parks Department for
more information at (770) 781-2030.
Fundamentals camp
A shooting skills, drills and funda¬
mentals basketball camp for ages 7-14
will be held June 24-26. Cost is $65.
Call the Cumming Recreation and
Parks Department for more informa¬
tion at (770) 781-2030.
West Forsyth High
baseball camp
West Forsyth Wolverines coach
Byron Orr and coach Denny Pritchett
will hold two summer baseball camps
Monday, June 2 - Thursday June 5 at
Midway Park. The first camp is for
boys ages 9-12 and will be conducted
from 9 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. each day.
The second camp is for boys age 13-
14 and will be conducted from 1 p.m.
- 3 p.m. each day. For more informa¬
tion or to sign up, contact James Parks
at (770) 781-2215 or jparks@forsyth
co.com.
9
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Wednesday, May 28,2008
cancer survivor. As normal as
he wants to be, what he’s
been through cannot be for¬
gotten.
That’s why his final pitch,
a 96-mile-per-hour fastball
whipped past the Royals
Alberto Callaspo, caused
Fenway to erupt into parox¬
ysms of joy. That’s why he
got bear hugs, not just high
fives and pats on the back,
from his teammates.
And that’s why the Sox
have won two Series after
their storied drought. They’re
not a team. They're family.
And it’s cool to see.
And that’s why Lester was
embraced by his manager,
Terry Francona, whose emo¬
tions were clearly out of con¬
trol. What did Francona tell
his pitcher?
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Photo/Emily Saunders
South’s Trey Renner tosses the ball to Mason Currie during spring practice.
CHEMISTRY from IB
tive impressions on the new coach.
Jones' athleticism will likely earn
him playing time at other positions,
but both reserves saw increased
action behind center in spring prac¬
tice since Adams, the starting center
fielder on the War Eagles’ baseball
team, was unable to participate due
to South’s presence in the Class
AAAAA state tournament.
Early said that although Adams’
absence wasn’t ideal for the quar¬
terback or the team, in the long run,
it won’t have an impact.
“He’s going to learn fast and
catch on quickly,” the coach said.
“Halfway through the summer it
will be like he never missed it.”
While linebacker is considered a
strength of the team, the offensive
line is something of a question
mark going into the season.
“We’re a radically different
contract raises
By Chris Harry
(MCT)
Matt Ryan has never
thrown a pass in the NFL.
Never taken a snap or lined
up across from Julius
Peppers. like
Now he’s being paid
Tom Brady and Peyton
Manning.
“It’s a little dishearten¬
ing,” Tennessee offensive
lineman and NFL Players
Association president Kevin
Mawae told ESPN Radio
last week after Ryan, the
No. 3 pick in the April 26
draft, signed a six-year, $72
million contract with the
Atlanta Falcons. “It makes it
tough for a guy who’s
proven himself to say, 'I
want that kind of money’
when the owners, all they’re
saying is, 'Well, you weren’t
a first-round pick. f ii
These kinds of astronom¬
ical numbers for unproven
players are one of the main
reasons the NFL owners
“It’s something that’s
between me and Terry,
Lester said, “and something
that I’ll remember for a long
time. Through everything I’ve
been through, he’s been like a
second Dad to me.
“Being able to talk to him,
not as a manager, but as a
friend ... he cares a lot about
his players. It’s not just about
what you can do on the Held;
it’s what type of person you
are. He cares a lot about that.”
Francona arrived at
Fenway only three hours
before Lester’s first pitch. He
had attended the graduation
of his son Nick at the
University of Pennsylvania.
“I saw my son’s gradua¬
tion,” Francona said, “and I
saw my son throw a no-hitter.
You feel like a proud parent. P
2008 schedule
Aug. 29 At Alpharetta
Sep. 05 South Gwinnett
Sep. 12 North Gwinnett
Sep. 19 At Chattahoochee
Sep. 26 Northview
Oct. 03 Bye week
Oct. 10 At North Forsyth
Oct. 17 Duluth
Oct. 24 At Peachtree R.
Oct. 31 At Collins Hill
Nov. 07 Mill Creek
offense than what we’ve run here
before,” Early said. “Offensive line
wise we are very young, very inex¬
perienced, so we’ll really have to
work hard there.”
South gets a warm-up prior to
voted 32-0 to opt out of a
collective bargaining agree¬
ment they ratified by a near
unanimous vote (30-2) bare¬
ly two years ago. The deal
guaranteed players 60 per¬
cent of generated revenue,
which turned out to be $4.5
billion in 2007.
While that money was
going out, owners entered
into construction costs on a
trio of stadiums (two of
them costing more than a
billion dollars) and watched,
for example, a rookie quar¬
terback (JaMarcus Russell)
get a $60 million first con¬
tract and attempt 66 passes
in four games.
The owners crunched the
numbers and didn’t like their
math. That’s interesting,
considering these highly
intelligent businessmen
were the same guys who
negotiated half the six-year
CBA deal.
And signed it.
It included an early exit
clause the deadline of which
know we have no right to say
that, but to watch him do that
tonight was beyond words.
“What a story. I think its
obvious how we feel about
this kid. It couldn’t happen to
a better kid.
While no one mentioned
the words non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma, they hung in the
air as a counterpoint to the
evening’s exhilaration.
“We’re seeing a young kid
still develop, Francona
added, ‘and his development
got interrupted for a while,
But he works so hard, and
he’s such a strong kid. Some
of that strength was taken
away last year ... He’s got
some weapons to get hitters
out. You don’t see a lot of no¬
hitters, but he has good stuff.
Even Lester reflected on
the start of the season when Forsyth
Central comes to War Eagle Field
for a scrimmage on Aug. 22.
Matchups with Alpharetta and
South Gwinnett also precede the
region opener on Sept. 12 at home
against North Gwinnett.
The War Eagles also host
Northview, Duluth and Mill Creek
later in the season. The team will
travel to Chattahoochee, North
Forsyth, Peachtree Ridge and Mill
Creek.
[Region 7-AAAAA] is the
toughest region around,” Early said.
“There’s not an easy week in [our
schedule].”
For now, however, fall opponents
are not the War Eagles’ concern.
“Even as coaches, we haven’t...
talked about the season,” the coach
said. “All we want to do is put good
days back-to-back.”
was next October. They fig
ured why wait?
“What a surprise,”
NFLPA Executive
Gene Upshaw said.
Under the agreement,
there are three more seasons
of football guaranteed. The
first drop-dead deadline
appears to be March 2010.
“We are not in dire
straits. We’ve never said
that,” Commissioner
Roger Goodell said.
“But the agreement isn’t
working, and we’re
looking to get a more
fair and equitable deal.
Added Upshaw:
This just starts the
clock ticking. If we
can’t reach agreement
by 2010, then we go to
no-man’s-land, which is
2011 .”
The 2010 season,
under the current agree
ment, would be played
without a salary cap, ,
albeit with some caveats
and clauses inserted in
his life’s vicissitudes, It was
a long road back. When I did
get back, I wanted to be at a
certain level. And I wasn’t at
that level. And it took a
while,
It was tough mentally
and tough physically to go
out and pitch every five days,
I’m just glad I’m here at this
moment right now. And, in
five days, go pitch again.”
Here’s some insight into
how Lester’s comeback has
affected people: he even got
to Hank Steinbrenner, the
bombastic new spokesman
for the Yankees,
“Anybody would be
touched by what that kid has
gone through,” Young Stein
told Mark Cafardo of the
Boston Globe last Tuesday.
“Great performance. You tip
Editor’s note; Spring
ball practice for varsity foot¬
programs was held
recently Georgia high schools. throughout
The Forsyth County
News of is featuring recaps high
each county
school football program’s
training ahead session the 2008 and a look
to season.
May 21 West Forsyth
May 23 North Forsyth
May 25 Forsyth Central
Today 30 Pinecrest South Forsyth
May
E-mail Jared Putnam at
sports @ forsythnews. com.
the CBA as deterrents to
avoid the no-cap scenario
that would greatly reduce
certain players’ chances to
become free agents.
What Upshaw referred to
as “no-man’s-land” would
be the following year, the
first in the league’s modem
era without a CBA.
Can you say, “Major
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your cap to that. He was out¬
standing. That’s what you
hope for a kid you’ve devel¬
oped.”
And Lester confided in
Cafardo that he’s still just
realizing what he’s become.
“It’s something that I’m try¬
ing to learn how to deal
with. When you get people
coming up to you on the
street that you don’t know,
telling you that you’re an
inspiration to them, you
don’t know what to say. You
don’t know how to act. You
don’t know what to do. ’ •
Don’t worry, Jon. You’re
doing just fine.
When not practicing his
avocation, Denton Ashway
practices his vocation with
the law firm of Ashway and
Haldi in Cumming.
League Baseball?"
Or worse.
Imagine the NFL without
a draft and all college play¬
ers being free agents.
Now imagine what the
Matt Ryan contract of ‘10
would look like,
It’s going to be a hard
negotiation,” Steelers owner
Dan Rooney said. „**