Earlier this year policesoftball.com announced it would be naming its “All-Time” team. Essentially we have identified the players who we believe dominated the sport for an era. An era can loosely be defined as, “a period of time characterized by particular circumstances, events, or personages.” So we did not consider players with a short history in our sport. There are certainly some up and comers who will make a run at the “All-Time” team roster in in the future, but we focused on those who already have had a distinguished police softball career.

This weekend PoliceSoftball.com held its’ first Single Agency Tournament. The tourney was geared to be a fun one day event that gave agencies a chance to play with the officers they work with and also gave some local police departments bragging rights. The tournament was divided into “David and Goliath” divisions with David’s being under 300 sworn and Goliath’s being over 300 sworn.

Sin City Combo fought off some quality teams on its way to winning the 34th Annual Police and Fire Games, held in Las Vegas on August 12th-14th. The three day tournament concluded with a 18-6 Sin City win over Quake for the Gold Medal.

Quality, not quantity was the theme of the weekend in Sterling Heights, Mi this weekend. From the opening Ceremony that Honored the sacrifices of Fallen brother and sister Officers, to the final championship games, The weekend seemed to be as good as it could be for everyone that came to the enjoy the tournament.

The 2nd Annual Stanislaus-5.11 Weekday Classic Tournament was played on Friday, August 13th at the Big League Dreams complex in Manteca, Ca. 10 teams played hookey from work to compete on pristine fields against great competition. PS Top Ten West Coast teams West Coast Aftershock, with newly named Hall of Fame member, Jimmy Lemon, Direct Impact and Nor-Cal Choir Boys were on hand to take Concord Combo, Stanislaus 5.11, Combat/Syndicate, DVI, El Dorado S/O and Sac Probation. Rounding out the field was Team RTA, an All-Star team comprised mostly of So-Cal Alliance and HardCor members. In all, 7 out of the 10 teams are World Series bound.

After careful consideration, West Coast Hall of Fame Chairman Anthony Costanzo and his committee has announced the 2010 West Coast inductees for the PoliceSoftball.com Hall of Fame. The newest inductees are:

The chair person takes the top 10 vote getters and submits the names alphabetically with no scores to the committee and requires them to vote either “yes” or “no” for election to the HOF. This process is again confidential and the chair person counts the votes. If the nominee gets “6” or more yes votes out of 11 they are elected to the East Coast Hall of Fame. This year 2 of the HOF committee members were nominees in the process and were allowed to vote for their top 16 and the “yes” or “no” portion but were NOT allowed to vote for themselves. Therefore they needed 6 out of 10 votes.The entire process is completely documented with e-mail copies of votes and excel charts of the results saved by the chair person to prevent any allegations of wrong doings.

The West Coast Hall of Fame Chairman for the last several years is Anthony "Big Tone" Costanzo. In addition to his work on the Hall of Fame, Big Tone has been a pillar of the Police Softball community for the last 20 years. He started out as a new player with the versatility to play infield or toss the rock from the bump. While speed was never one of Tones' exceptional qualities, hitting was. A typical game for Big Tone was a 3 for 4 with one sent over the fence for good measure. It wasn't long before Tone was both playing and managing the Sacramento Sheriff's team, and doing it with great success. He lead his team to numerous tournament and Olympic medal victories, all the while establishing himself as a great friend and reliable asset to other Nor-Cal managers and tourney directors.

This year PoliceSoftball.com would like to recognize every team MVP during the Friday night festivities. Whether a team is the favorite to win the series or likely to go 0-4, they have that one teammate that really stood out above the rest this season either based on talent, play, heart, determination or effort. Many of these players do not get recognized properly for their team first mentality and PoliceSoftball.com would like to change that.

The Policesoftball.com/Easton Summer Classic was played on July 31-Aug 1 at the Big League Dreams venue in Mira Loma, Ca. The Inland Empire area of Southern California is usually very hot this time of the year, but as luck would have it, the conditions were fairly mild. This facility boasts 7 softball fields with a variety of dimensions ranging from the monster Pawtucket field (330-340-330) to the cozy Vero Beach (265-270-265). This tournament was one of two California World Series qualifiers which meant team rosters were strictly adhered to. Teams had to win or lose with their roster players and not ringers brought specifically to win a berth. And, once again this was a provided bat tournament courtesy of Easton Sports and Real Skilz president Armando Acosta. Once again, the provided bats meant there would be no allegations of shenanigans and everyone had the proverbial level playing field.

This year was the 39th. annual Dayton National Police Championship Softball Tournament and once again it did not disappoint. After an early second-round loss to the defending champion Minnesota Lawmen — rated No. 8 in the East Coast rankings — Ohio rattled off six wins while facing elimination to again face Minnesota in the finals of the 2010 National Police Softball Championship. Coming out of the loser’s bracket, Ohio then needed to win two games against Minnesota in order to secure the championship. That’s what it did. Taking Games 1 and 2 by a score of 18-12 and 25-15, Ohio won its first police softball national championship since 1972 on Sunday, July 11, at Vic Lyons Field (known as “The Hill”).

Zephyr Cove, NV.-------- Another tremendous 3 days of Softball up in 7,250 feet altitude with bright sunny skies all weekend. Tempatures averaged 85 degrees. Bracket play began on Friday in both "A" and "B" Flights with Alliance,Stanislaus, Hardcore and Concord winning their respective Brackets in A Flight and Santa Cruz, Butte County, So-Cal Beach Bums and Folsom J-Cats winning their brackets in B Flight. There were a total of 8 one-run games in bracket play. Friday Nite included a homerun derby which had a showdown between Paul Blandford and Chad Johnson of Hardcore for the title of HR King. Paul outlasted Chad in the final round and won the Brett Helmer Easton bat. Mike McMorrow of DEA( Played with LAPD) finished third. The HR derby raised $620 dollars which was donated by the tournament to two different causes, The Stepon Gray Memorial Fund to help new cadets into the Police Academy in Merced.Ca and to our brother in New York,The Bryan Bangs Foundation. Friday nite concluded with 3 more softball games under the lights at Zephyr Cove.

The weekend was long and hot but at least it didn't rain. Because of the weather the infields were very hard but all who played made the most of the field conditions.The Shamrocks and The Steel City Enforcers met in the championship game in the Gold Division but before they got there both teams had to go through very strong teams. The Shamrocks were the #1 seed and they opened up against the #8 seed which were The Steel City Enforcers. The Shamrocks beat The Steel City Enforcers in the opening game and then they went on to play and beat Montgomery County Young Gunz and Maryland State Police. After losing to The Shamrocks; The Steel City Enforcers had to go on to play Worcester Police Department, Team Jersey, Montgomery County Young Gunz and Maryland State Police.

The ‘SA Law’ softball team comprised of San Antonio officers entered the 2010 Texas Police Games in Brownsville, TX with the bitter memory of our miserable 2009 performance. This year was different and members of the team understood their purpose and goal. Win at all cost and prove to other state agencies that ‘SA Law Softball’ was back and stronger than ever.

The NorCal Mid-summer classic was a great tournament and was pre-designated by 3N2 as a “3N2MVP Tournament”. After the dust settled, two players whose names are pretty well known to police softball were named 3N2 MVPs. The award winners are:Mark “Tolly” Tolliver, who is a former West Coast Player of the Year award winner was his usual self on the bump, tying up batters with precision pitching and shutting down the middle. At this tourney, Tolly’s offense was what stood out as he led the team with an .875 average and had some key HR’s.

The Sacramento Sheriff Razorbacks and NorCal Choir Boys co-hosted one of the most important tournaments of the year this past weekend. The NorCal Mid-Summer Classic was played out in the Sacramento suburb of Lincoln at the beautiful Foskett Regional Park softball complex and twenty of California’s top teams participated in the event. Several factors elevated the status of this tournament including the following:Six (6) World Series berths would be awarded to the top finishers who had not already qualified.It was the first ever law enforcement manufacturer provided bat challenge. Each field had a variety of bats from the top manufacturers to choose from. Since the bats were the same for everyone, there would be no allegations of altered bats or cheating.

On July 7th, the nomination period for the 2010 Police Softball Hall of Fame class will close. If you have any nominees you want to nominate, please do so before that date. After that date the Hall of Fame committees will start reviewing the nominees and will be asked to make some very difficult decisions. Once again the Hall of Fame committees are chaired by Dennis Leonard (East) and Tony Costanzo (West).

The 28th Annual Virginia Beach Softball Classic was held this past weekend and it coincided with the service retirement of the tournament director and Policesoftball.com Hall of Fame member Terry Dugan. It was a special year for Terry and the overall event as a record 32 teams rallied in Virginia Beach to battle on the field and party off the field. Although weather threatened all weekend, no games were affected as it seems the softball gods created an invisible dome around the softball complex to ensure the event was protected. The festivities started on Friday night on the oceanfront boardwalk restaurant Peabody’s where players, families and friends jammed in to celebrate Terry’s retirement party.

The 4th Annual State Razed Classic was held in the CenCal city of Hanford this past weekend and it drew teams from as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Orange County. The Hanford Sports Complex boasts 5 300’ fenced fields with well manicured playing surfaces. The weather was in the high 70’s, the sky was clear and the winds were mild so it made for a perfect weekend of softball.The top 4 seeds following round robin were: DEA Combo, State Razed, SoCal Alliance and HardCor in that order. The biggest story line of the round robin was a surprising 0-2 performance from a stacked NorCal Choir Boys team but their sluggish start would quickly be forgotten.

This years Vegas Baconball saw a great combination of 18 East and West coast teams battling it out at the ShadowRock Complex. With the last three Vegas Baconball winners also going on to win the World Series that same year, this tourney obviously brings some top notch teams and this year was no exception. Thanks to the Sin City guys for kicking the weekend off on Thursday by arranging for teams to take BP at the new BLD complex. This complex is awesome and should help make this years World Series better than ever.

Twin Creeks hosted its 2nd Annual Law Enforcement Tournament @ Twin Creeks Sports Complex located in Sunnyvale,Ca. This year’s tournament was co-hosted by Direct Impact Softball. There was much anticipation to play in the 1st Nor Cal Tournament of the 2010 season. Mother Nature ensured great playing conditions with a comfortable 72 degrees. The tournament began with 6 pools of 3 teams playing on 6 different fields.

To commemorate the 2010 season and a new decade of LEO softball, PoliceSoftball.com plans on naming their All-Time Police Softball Team. This announcement will be made at or just prior to the 2010 World Series. It is PoliceSoftball.com’s intention to name one of these teams every 10 years as the passage of time will surely adjust the make up of the team. As when MLB named the All-Century team, there will be some great players and Hall of Famers left off the list. That is one of the biggest difficulties in creating this team. Another difficulty will be putting word of mouth, legend, myth and eye witness accounts into the proper context of ability. Because there are so many great players, this team may have some players playing out of the position they typically played in. For example, there may be two great shortstops considered and both of them may be better than the second baseman considered. For the purposes of this team, it will be comprised of what PoliceSoftball.com thinks the best All-Time team would be.Furthermore, great players of today in their prime may be overlooked or passed on because he will not have the breadth of a career that others may have. Those players will surely be considered when we do this again in 2020. To create this team, we have been scouting, listening, reading and taking in all the information we can. As this year goes on, we will be speaking to many people who we think can give us an accurate assessment of this team. We will continue to do this right up until the team is announced.We plan on documenting this team in the 2010 World Series area of the PoliceSoftball.com where it can be permanently viewed. In addition to naming the All-Time team, PoliceSoftball.com will revive their annual naming of an All-National team.

At last years World Series we asked that all Hall of Fame members in attendance come out on the field and welcome the newest inductees into that exclusive club. This year the World Series will be moving to Las Vegas Nevada and we are expecting the biggest turnout ever in terms of Hall of Fame members being present. To honor and pay homage to our Hall of Famer’s we are planning on a 4-5 inning Hall of Fame exhibition game between the East and West Hall of Fame Squads. All Hall of Fame members are invited to participate in the game. Coaching duties will be handled by our Hall of Fame committees and this game should be a great way to honor our Hall of Fame members and add some fun to our night.

This last weekend officially marked the west coast kick off to the police softball season. As usual, the DEA Kick Off maxed out with 30 teams. This year also saw mother nature looming about but she did not hit like the forecasts predicted and all the tourney games got in without any issues. Every team had two round robin games with the top 2 teams in each bracket going to A flight and the bottom team going to B flight. Once the teams were divided, the double elimination playoffs started. When the dust settled in the A flight, four teams were left undefeated. Those teams were the LAPD Blue vs. the California Quake and the SoCal Alliance vs. HardCor.

Policesoftball.Com is pleased to announce the formation of a new team that will be playing in the circuit this year, Team Vargas. The team is coached by veteran USBP Agent Dave Rodriguez who has previously been in a leadership role with other teams such as Nitro2Go, Southwest Syndicate and USBP Heat. According to Dave, the idea of putting Team Vargas together came late last year after a long time member of the USBP Heat passed away due to cancer.

Mitch Brouillette made his debut with the Alliance this weekend and he made it count as he was named the 3N2 MVP. Mitch had a great tournament leading the Alliance to the tourney win. Mich played stellar defense in centerfield, ran like a deer on the base paths and hit .758 with 8 homeruns. For his MVP play, Mitch will receive a 3N2 MVP prize package consisting of (1) pair of Momentum Trainer Turf shoes, (1) pair of 3N2 Batting Gloves, (1) 3N2 Hat or Visor, (1) 3N2 T-Shirt and (1) Pair of 3N2 Sweat Bands.

3N2 Sports will continue with their “3N2 MVP Prize Package Promotion” in 2010 along with Police Softball.COM. The MVP prize package will include (1) pair of Momentum Trainer Turf shoes, (1) pair of 3N2 Batting Gloves, (1) 3N2 Hat or Visor, (1) 3N2 T-Shirt and (1) Pair of 3N2 Sweat Bands. The following tournaments have been designated as 3N2 MVP Prize Package Tournaments:

This section concludes our 2010 season preview. We would like to thank all the teams that gave us info which allowed us to create a more comprehensive preview on the many changes that took place in the off season. Creating and posting the previews were a lot of work but it is something we truly enjoy and we sincerely hope they made the last few weeks a little more enjoyable and helped get everyone ready for the 2010 season. The 2010 season got a little kick off recently at the Brian Azelton tournament back east and it will kick off in earnest out west next week at the DEA Kick Off tournament. Good luck to all the teams in 2010 and most of all, stay safe as you encounter the wolves in our society who will not hesitate to do you harm.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.by: policesoftball.com

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Next up in the Hot Corner is Steve Buccellato of the Sac Razaorbacks team. Steve has become a fixture in NorCal softball and is one of the people you will see doing more than his share of the workload to keep our sport moving forward.

Ray Ghiliotty, or Ray G as he is better known, is next up on the Hot Corner. Ray G has been a quiet force in police softball the last few years and he has steadily improved his game each year. Ray has somewhat flown under the radar the last few years but after winning the West Covina HR Derby and gracing the home page of PS.com, his game will never go unnoticed again. Ray G. was quite simply one of the best Alliance players last season even though he missed West Palm Beach when he had to fly home from Florida for the birth of his son and he missed most of the World Series when a bad ankle injury put him on the disabled list for two months. Ray G. can play any infield position as well as pitcher and can hit for both average and power. Although he has been likened to George Reyes' little brother because of appearance, hitting ability and friendship, Ray G. has proven his game is all his own and we look forward to watching him in the 2010 season. (Like most of the Hot Corners, this one was sent in prior to the end of the 2009 season)

The off season is about to come to an end for PS.com and it is time for us to get back to work. First off is the rosters. Please submit your team rosters to us in an E mail, Private Message, or best of all, post them yourselves in the Roster area of the PS.com Message Board. Roster are very simple. All we care about for our purposes is: Name (First name and last initial), Agency (Agency you are employed by), Basic Job Description (Police Officer, Correctional Officer, Probation Officer or Parole Officer---WE DO NOT WANT SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT) and the State in which you are employed. (Even if it is obvious, please add it)

This next Hot Corner profiles Hall of Famer David Stevens. David is no longer an active player on the PS.com circuit but he is still very involved attending tournaments and taking professional quality photographs of the game which have been used by Softball Magazine

This weeks Hot Corner profiles Chad Johnson. Chad has been a well known player for the Nitro2Go team but recently announced a leave of absence. it is rumored Chad may find himself behind the dish for HardCor but that is unconfirmed at this time. This Hot Corner interview was done prior to the World Series so view it with that in mind.

Easton will once again be offering their law enforcement program for a limited time. Brett Helmer & Easton Sports have been big supporters of law enforcement softball and policesoftball.com for several years and they are offering an outstanding program for teams in the police softball circuit!

John Scollo is known to many as the coach of the South Florida Lawmen and tournament director of the West Palm Beach Bacon Ball tourney which is one of the best tournaments on the circuit. John is also a very upstanding guy and will give you his unfiltered thoughts any time you ask for them. John is on our 2010 competition committee and is one of the most hard working guys involved in police softball. John is one of the best hosts in the circuit when your team comes to WPB. PS.com highly recommends this tournament as the level of play and night life are outstanding. This year the South Florida Lawmen and Miami Metro Red merged and this merger has made the new SoFlo team one of the most anticipated teams in a long time. Here is John's Hot Corner submitted earlier in the year.

This week we the Hot Corner will bring you the thoughts of Joe Mestres. Joe works for the California Department of Corrections and can be seen toeing the rubber on softball diamonds across the country as he is more than willing to fly anywhere to play softball with his LEO brothers.

This Hot Corner was sent in by California Quake coach Derwin Longmire. Derwin is a longtime fixture in police softball and he has coached and played his team to a 2006 World Series victory. Derwin's Quake team has been ranked in the top 3 of PS.com since its inception. As with all the Hot Corners you will see over the next few weeks, they were sent in several months ago so read them with that mindset.

We would like to apologize for getting backed up on our Hot Corners but during the off season, we will get caught up. This Hot Corner features PS.com Hall of Famer and Minnesota Legend Dan Scheuermann.

Over the past 6 years the World Series has evolved into a bigger event than we first imagined, and in order to continue to produce a high quality event it is unfortunately necessary to limit the number of participating teams. As always we want every team to get a fair and enjoyable experience, which will continue to include 2 round robin/seeding games and then a blind-draw double elimination playoff format. Based on field availability we have determined our cap will be 39 teams in the Platinum division and 15 teams in the Gold division (total of 54 teams). Schedules for both divisions will be intertwined and will span over the same three day period. This will ensure that everyone can enjoy the same experience. The ONLY thing differentiating the two divisions will be the opponents. The championship games for both divisions will be played on late Sunday afternoon/early evening.

As just announced, World Series VI will be held in Las Vegas Nevada. The Las Vegas Big League Dreams is a new facility with 6 replica fields versus the 5 fields (3 replica/2 minor league) we had in Palm Springs. The extra field will give teams the chance to play every game on a replica stadium, but it will also allow us the opportunity to start slightly later and end slightly earlier on most game days. A big change for World Series VI will be the Platinum and Gold Divisions. The Platinum Division will feature 39 teams and the Gold Division will feature 15 teams. Both divisions will play two games in round robin which will seed them into a double elimination format. Both divisions will also play all three days and the games will be intertwined so every player has a similar experience. What does this mean? This means the games just got that much tighter for the 39 teams in the Platinum Division. It also means it will be a dogfight for the 15 teams in the Gold Division. Nobody should plan on booking flights too early on Sunday because there will be a lot of teams slugging it out on Sunday morning/afternoon. Both winning teams will have their picture grace the home page of PS.com for the following year.

At the World Series rules meeting, it was overwhelmingly supported to create a Competition Committee (CC) to look at some of the issues brought forth. The CC will primarily look at rules for the World Series but any tournament director can refer to them if a question arises and they want an outside panel to look at it. This also gives another degree of transparency to how we rule on issues and further reduces the chance that we could have a conflict regarding having a team in the event we also run.We decided to name the CC based on geographical make up so many regions of the country are represented and message board knowledge/activity. We also chose the CC based on their past postings which showed very reasoned thinking.

South Florida Lawmen and Miami Metro Red would proudly like to announce a merger amongst the two teams. Coaches of both teams, John Scollo and Mike Bracci both cite lack of commitment from both sides as the main reason for this merger. The new team will continue to be called the South Florida Lawmen but will have a whole new look. New uniform designs as well as many new faces will be just the start for this team in 2010. The team will continue to be run by Co-managers Scollo and Bracci along with the onfield expertise of Mike Kletzky.

Policesoftball.com is pleased to announce a partnership with www.Sports55.com, makers of the highest quality softball uniforms in the industry. Sports55.com will be known as the "Official Uniform of Police Softball" and will sponsor the Rankings section of the website. Sports55 has developed a plan specific to police softball, for details click this link: http://sports55.com/policesoftball.html

At the World Series we conducted a meeting to discuss some of the issues that repeatedly came up in the past year. The meeting was attended by numerous coaches, tournament directors and players. As it has always been, we control only the World Series and how the rankings are conducted. The meeting was conducted with this in mind. We absorbed the feedback, coupled it with what our limitations are and came up with what we believe is reasonably in line with the thoughts and desires of the majority that attended the meeting. We hope the tournament directors at the meeting will have come away with some thoughts about what the masses think and institute what they deem appropriate for their events. Here is what we came away with:

World Series V unofficially started off on thursday morning with the over the line team competition. Once the dust settled, the Backside Bandits team of Mark Tolliver (repeat champion), Allan Westfall and Scott Waxweiler claimed the top prize and were awarded a pair of ps.com batting gloves. Finishing second was team Beef consisting of Donavan “Double D” Delaney, Curt Ledesma and Chris “Meat” Oliver who received some classic World Series T-Shirts (Read last years editions) After the OTL game, all the players and fans in attendance were treated to In and Out Burger Double Double combo meals and a cold refreshment or two courtesy of policesoftball.com. Thursday night brought the poker tournament where 39 players fought for the grand prize of 1000.00. Winning the competition was Todd “Spotlight” Phillips. A special thanks to Todd and his crew for running the tournament and for Denton Carlson for graciously allowing us to borrow his card and chips. Come friday morning it was time for the games to begin. Winning their brackets and earning #1 seeds were:

Our East coast player of the year award has included great players such as Donny Meyer, Doug Cullen and James Ruocchio. What these players all had in common were the ability to get the job done when their teams needed it. They were the players their teams wanted involved when the game was on the line. This years player is also looked at that way by his team. What you will also see in common with many of the players who have received this award is their positive attitude and ability to will their teams to victory. This is something else our East coast player of the year has in common with the past award winners.

For years Ron "RC" Connor has been one of the best players on the west coast. Whether he was leading the DEA Combo or the LASD Red to tournament wins or the Cal. Quake to World Series victory, there has been one constant. Ron Connor’s teams have won games wherever he has played. That fact is not just a mere coincidence. RC has played for many years and this year it seems he has turned back the clock and elevated his game to heights that are very impressive. RC has played lights out softball both defensively and at the plate all season long. On the season, RC has lead his team to 4 tournament wins, 8 top 5 finishes and the California Quake are the #2 team coming into the World Series. The Quake have won the World Series in the past and with RC playing at this level, the Quake have a good shot to be the last team standing in 2009.

After serving as a Military Police Officer for five years, Steve Martin began his civilian police career with the Phoenix Police Department in 1996. His badge was pinned by his Uncle, Skip Stephenson, a member of the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego Gray Softball Team. Steve worked in patrol from 1996 to 1999, earning the Medal of Valor in 1997. In 1999 Steve left the Phoenix Police Department to begin working with the Arizona Department of Public Safety as a Highway Patrol Officer. Steve met his wife, Carolee, who was also an officer with the DPS, when they were assigned to the same squad. Steve worked on two patrol squads from 1999-2003 before being selected to take a position on the department's advanced training squad.

The final installment of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket featured 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 14th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

Every great team has that defensive force up the middle whether it is a pitcher, middle infielder or center fielder. The Ohio Lawmen are no different as they are blessed with one of the best infielders in the game, Rob Menke. For the last few years, Rob has consistently been one of the most visible players for the Ohio Lawmen and one of the best defensive players in the country. Rob plays in high level civilian ball and this allows him to always be on his "A" game when the police tournaments roll around.PS.com got to see Rob display his glove work this year in West Covina and once again he impressed with his abilities. After every tournament he plays in, there are always memories of a great defensive play, or two, or three, that Rob Menke has made.

Year in and year out, there are some players who exemplify the Sportsman of the Year award and Jim Lemmon fits that bill. Jim is one of the classiest gentlemen on the police circuit and will do anything for anyone. Jim is a huge supporter of police tournaments and the fact he has gotten his team to a police softball best 11 tournaments this year is a testament to the hard work and support he gives back to our sport. In addition to playing in 11 tournaments, Jim's team also hosted a Bacon Ball tournament this year. On the field, Jim’s team has won 2 tournaments this year and lead by his example his team conducts themselves as true professionals. No matter their finish, Jim has always been the consummate professional and true friend

The 13th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 12th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 11th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 10th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 9th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 8th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

When we started our year end awards, we quickly recognized we needed a sportsmanship award. Without this aspect of our game, law enforcement ball would not be as special as it is to many of us. Each year there are many examples of players and coaches who are strong possibilities for this award but luckily for us, each year there seems to be one person who steps up and stands out as an obvious recipient. This award can be given for a special year the player/coach may have had or it can be recognition for a career of sportsmanship that has separated the award winner from the others. In the case of Terry Dugan, he has earned for both his career work and his work this year which once again has been exemplary.

The 7th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

In 1998 Rick Tirelli founded the NYPD Blues Police Softball team. In 2002 his team won every tournament they entered including the Dayton National Championship. In 2004 the Blues earned their second Dayton National Police Championship. At the end of the 2008 season, Rick and the NYPD Blues lost two big parts of their team in Dan Spinelli and James Rouchio to NY Metro. Losing a Hall of Famer and a former Player of the Year is difficult for a team trying to get to the next level. In addition to Dan Spinelli's contribution on the field, Dan was also a big part of the Blue's management team.

When we look at the candidates for Manager of the year, it would be easy to look at which team is leading the points chase or who has won the most tournaments. But many times those are the teams who are expected to be there. What we often find ourselves being impressed with are the managers who are doing more with less. The managers whose teams are playing much better than expected or who are simply the heart and soul of their teams are very hard not to consider for this award. Steve Merchant is the heart and soul of the Choir Boys and founded the team in 2003. No manager loves his team or does as much for them as Steve does. In addition to playing in and supporting many other tournaments, Steve's team also runs a successful tournament.

The 6th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 5th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 4th in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 3rd annual BaconBall New York was held at Flynn Park in Commack N.Y. on Saturday September 19th, 2009 under picture perfect skies. This years event was also sponsored by 5.11 Tactical Gear who gave a $250 Gift Certificate to the MVP and $100.00 Gift Certificates to the All Tournament players. After the morning session of round robin play in which the NYPD Blues and NY Metro went 2-0, Dirty Jersey Boyz, Shamrock Enforcers, Suffolk County 2 and Team USA went 1-1 and Virginia Beach and Nassau County went 0-2, we took a break to eat and share some good times with each other.

The 3rd in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The Michigan Lawmen have a tradition of success and this year is no different as they are coming into the World Series as the #1 ranked team in the East Coast. The Lawmen have already played in 5 tournaments this year and have finished in the top 5 four times with two #1 finishes. This kind of success could not be possible without the help of Don Barnes and Belle Tire. Don Barnes and Belle Tire have been a supportive member of the Michigan Lawmen family for 13 years and this relationship has been a big factor in the Lawmen's success. Not only have they supported the Lawmen, but they have assisted and supported police officers who have been hurt and killed in the line of duty. For what Don Barnes/Belle Tire have done this year and for so many years in the past, they are the 2009 East Coast Sponsor of the Year.

The 2nd in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged.

The 1st in 15 installments of World Series round robin brackets. Each bracket will feature 3 of the nation's top cop softball teams. Policesoftball.com has tried to evenly balance the brackets as much as possible and mix & match East/West teams. Winning the bracket will be critical as it provides all bracket winners a huge first round playoff bye game. If you win your bracket on Friday, you won't have to play again until Saturday and by then many teams will already be fighting for survival in the loser bracket. A thread and poll will be started on the message board after each bracket is announced. Your input on those threads is encouraged

Every year PoliceSoftball.com has given out year end awards at the PoliceSoftball.com World Series opening ceremony. These awards are something we do to recognize the people and companies that have set themselves apart from the crowd and have stepped up in a big way to assist their teams, and/or our sport. Every year we ask for input from all who participate in police softball and with that input, we award who we believe is worthy of the Policesoftball.com Year End Awards. Every year our awards have been handled by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association and we would like to thank them on behalf of all of police softball for helping make this night even more special. Our goal is to announce our year end award winners every other day or so for the next two weeks so please check back often to see the announcements.

Our Year End Awards were not going to be named until later this month, but with this one award we felt it was best to announce it now. Jason "J-Hart" Hart is currently in the hospital fighting a badly infect knee. Jason will be in the hospital for at least a week and we hope this news brings him some measure of happiness.

Yesterday we announced the Police All-Star team and today we are proud to announce the Corrections/Parole/Probation Team that will face them on Friday night of the World Series. This game promises to be a great display of talent and intensity as it will match up teammate against teammate. Bragging rights for the year sure sure to be on the line and this game will most definitely be off the charts.

This years World Series All-Star game will be different. In the past, the game has always pitted West vs. East. This year it will pay homage to one of the earliest debates on our website by pitting police vs. corrections/probation/parole. These teams were painstakingly selected after much thought and debate among the coaching staffs. Unlike the past, not every team will be represented. The All-Star coaching staff recognizes they were not building a team of the greatest players, but they were trying to build the greatest team. To that end, it is not only possible but likely that some of the best players in the game will be watching instead of playing. But in the end, the coaching staff selected what they thought was the best team they could field with the understanding that this year it matters. The police team was limited to 20 players and no more than 2 players could come from the same team. The All-Star game will be unlimited home runs and this team was built to play well within that framework of rules.

Today (9-1-09) opens up the roster period for the World Series. All teams submitting rosters must submit them prior to 10-1-09. All rosters must have a players name, agency, title and state. Teams may only be made up of one state except for players who were grandfathered under the adjoining state rule. ANY PLAYERS LEFT OFF THE ROSTER AFTER 10-1-09 WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO PLAY IN THE WORLD SERIES.

One of the most enjoyable things we do at PoliceSoftball.com is give out the year end awards at the World Series. These awards mean a lot to the people who receive them and the past list of award winners are a who’s who list of people associated with police softball. The award winners will be recognized at the World Series and their names will be permanently listed on the Worlds Series history section on PoliceSoftball.com. For the past four years, the awards have been donated by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association and have been spearheaded by Anthony Costanzo. We would like to thank Anthony and the SCDSA for their help in this very special part of our friday night festivities. Past award winners have been:

A big Friday night at the ball park was an understatement this year at Liberty Park in Sterling Heights. From the opening ceremony to the last car leaving the parking lot, there was a ton of excitement and lots to do. Several of the Class of 2009 Hall of Fame inductees were on hand to receive recognition. Local favorites, Rod Grimes and Hollis Sheffield took their honors in front of their home town fans. Also receiving recognition for their tenure and play in the police circuit was Quake (DEA) player Keith Benjamin, Alliance player Scott Spaulding and an east coast favorite, Stu Hoskins from the Chicago Metro team.

This year 3N2 has designated certain tournaments to be part of the 3N2 MVP Series. Each MVP of the designated tourneys will be awarded a 3N2 MVP prize package. The latest 3N2 MVP tourney of the year was the Sterling Heights tournament.

The Shamrock Enforcers defeated the Tri State Lawmen 25-9 and 25-14 in the finals to claim victory in Anne Arundel County on Sunday. The team was led to the Championship by the efforts of the five MVP’s selected. In his debut appearance with the Shamrocks, outfielder Herman Pharow batted .870 and displayed near perfection on the defensive side. Pitcher John (Guido) Antinoro batted .697 and stunned the competition with his pitching abilities and extraordinary defensive play. Outfielder Joe Markulic batted .600 and led the team in RBI’s. Second baseman Lenny Florek batted .653 and short stop Paul Rutledge batted .666. Both infielders displayed a tremendous command of the field and remarkable range.

The Capital Lawmen Classic was held this past weekend at the Sacramento Softball Complex and was sponsored by the Sacramento County Probation Association. Sac Probation has been hosting softball tournaments for over 37 years under Hall of Fame inductee Elwin Jobe. The tradition has continued under new leadership and we hope to build on this year’s tournament for years to come. A total 17 teams participated, who were ready to compete for the $500 cash prize. The weather was nice and many laughs were shared amongst all of our law enforcement brothers

This year the World Series has decided to change up the All-Star game. In 2009 the All-Star game will no longer be East vs. West, but will be Police vs. Corrections/Probation/Parole. As in the words of people who have heard about this change, this year it will be game on. As always, the manager for the game was awarded to the winning team in the previous World Series. The Manager for the police team will be Del Pickney. Rounding out his coaching staff will be Dan Spinelli, Dennis Leonard and John Scollo.

Several years ago it was decided to start a police softball Hall of Fame to recognize some people who in one way or another have proved to be a cut above the crowd. These people have mostly been players but the Hall of Fame is also open to anyone who is involved in our game. Over the years we have received many questions asking about the Hall of Fame and its' selection process. To answer these questions, I have asked Dennis Leonard, who is a member of our Hall of Fame and Chairman of the east coast selection committee, to give us some behind the scenes information on what actually happens during the process.

The “Hot August Nights” tournament, held at the Mile Square Park Sportsplex, saw plenty of “red-hot” action, close scores and unexpected upsets. “Ultimate” B & G Combo and the So Cal “Dawgs” played hard and both earned the right to be crowned Guns & Hoses Champions in their respective divisions. The competition was close and the battles were tight throughout both divisions.

Police Softball.Com and the East Coast Hall of Fame Committee have created a new way to honor our fallen brothers who have paid the ultimate price as Law Enforcement Officers. In 2006, Police Softball initiated the PS.COM Hall of Fame for both east and west coast Law Enforcement Officers who met a certain criteria of age, longevity and a superior level of playing ability, managerial or tournament director dedication. Committees were formed and nominations were encouraged from all of our peers to honor those who were fortunate enough to have earned induction into the Hall of Fame.

PoliceSoftball.com is proud to announce the 2009 Class of the Police Softball Hall of Fame. As in years past, the selection process was a very difficult process and both the East and West committees worked very hard to come to a consensus. The 2009 Hall of Fame class will be recognized on the field at both the USSSA Law Enforcement Worlds and the PoliceSoftball.com World Series. Congratulations to all the incoming members!!!

The 2009 Chicago Metro Police Softball Tournament was played last weekend in northwest Indiana with the Illinois Lawmen taking the title in the tournaments second year. Things started a lot different than they ended as a beautiful 80 degree day had the Bluegrass Lawmen putting up some sick numbers as they and St. Louis/Worth shared the top two spots after pool play. The Buckeye Lawmen were not far behind while Illinois hung around the top. Wayne Oakland was upset by Hammond, IN PD with a walk-off three run home run in the bottom of the seventh, as Metro Detroit and Orlando struggled to find their way. Friday was capped off with a home run contest that fielded almost 20 guys. In the end Orlando had too much fire power with "Mango" winning against his team mate in a sudden death playoff.

The 2nd Annual Policesoftball.Com/Easton Summer Classic was once again held at the West Covina, Ca. Big League Dreams facility. Bring Ur Skilz C.E.O. Armando Acosta supplied dozens of 2010 Easton bats for the provided bat event. Unlike most tournaments, there were no allegations of “hot” bats because everyone used what was provided…stock Easton bats. Even though the 90 degree heat took its toll on the players, the bats and balls held up well. There were plenty of home runs hit and plenty of runs scored. There was a lot on the line for this event as it was the last point qualifier before the World Series. And there was an “at large” berth available for any non-top-15 team who placed highest. The round robin was critical because in each 3 team bracket only 2 would advance to the A-flight double elimination playoff. The 3rd place team would advance to the B-flight double elimination playoff. Here is how the round robin went down:

The 2009 Lake Tahoe Classic had 30 teams total. Friday Night the games began with 3 tough matchups. After the second game there was a special ceremony honoring the Fallen Officers from Oakland PD which brought tears to many in the stands. John Koss from Aftershock had a script that was simply awesome. Eldorado Sheriff Explorers were on hand and were fantastic. Bracket play had San Joaquin Co. winning the all B Flight in Gardnerville, Folsom-Sac winning the combo bracket in Gardnerville, Cen-Cal Syndicate going 3-0 in Tahoe Valley, Richmond PD winning the other B Flight Bracket at Bijou going 3-0, Nor-cal Choir Boys winning the all A Flight Bracket at the Middle School. At Zephyr Cove Aftershock went 3-0 winning the Am Zephyr Cove bracket and in the toughest Bracket of them all, Sin City Combo 3-0 looked real impressive in winning the PM Zephyr Bracket over Jax 3-1. Sin City defeated Jax on Friday night 27-16.

Skip Stephenson has been playing police softball longer than some of our younger players have been alive. After 34 years on the diamond, 57, Skip doesnt play as much LEO ball as he used to, but if he gets a call, you can expect him to hit .700 and give 100%. Skip was inducted in the 2006 Hall of Fame and he is truly one of our ambassadors for the sport. Skip played his prime years with the San Diego teams and is mostly remembered for his pitching and fiery intensity. Skip is now standing on the Hot Corner.

John “Wasabi" Birtcher has been playing police softball for 15 years. In his younger days, he played A level civilian ball and two years ago, he was inducted into the Police Softball Hall of Fame. Wasabi made a splash when he debuted for the Alliance by getting 21 straight hits which is still a record for an Alliance rookie debut. Wasabi currently plays for A-1 Towing/Hard-Cor, which is one of the best teams in police softball. Even in his upper 40s, Wasabi still carries one of the most feared bats in the game. In 2005, Wasabi won the PoliceSoftball.com World Series HR Derby. To date, Wasabi is still the oldest man to win the World Series Derby.

This is our 4th and final installment of the Mid-Season report. This week we reflect back on our pre-season team summaries and ranking predictions. These next 10 teams you will read about were our projected elite class East teams. Are they living up to our projections? Are they living up to their own expectations.