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Hancock and Kime busy this summer

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Two members of this past season Defiance High School baseball team are having busy summers.

Recent DHS graduate Justin Hancock played in two games at the 33rd annual Sunbelt Classic in Norman, Okla.

Hancock, who is also playing this summer for the Napoleon River Bandits, was one of 160 players participating on eight teams representing Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, Oklahoma and Canada. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched in two games for Ohio, picking up a win against Illinois.

Meanwhile, DHS senior Dace Kime has been invited to participate in the East Coast Pro Showcase and the West Coast Area Code Games.

Kime, who is playing this summer with both the Defiance ACME team and the Lake Erie Bulldogs, will participate in the East Coast Pro Showcase at Joker Marchandt Stadium in Lakeland, Fla., Aug. 1-4 and the West Coast Area Code Games Aug. 5-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif.

In the East Coast Pro Showcase, Kime will play for the Oakland A's team which features players from seven states. The right-handed hurler tried out for that team last week.

Kime earned a spot in the 23rd annual Area Code Games after a tryout in Washington, Pa. He will play for a team representing the Yankees. On July 14, Kime will practice with his team at Yankee Stadium.

Kime's Lake Erie Bulldogs, which play home games at Walsh Jesuit High School, are 14-4-1 this summer winning the Black Swamp Tournament, which included the Napoleon River Bandits, and placing fourth at the Cincinnati Flames Tournament of Champions.

* All active and retired military personnel can receive complimentary tickets for tonight's Fort Wayne TinCaps home game. A valid military ID will result in a complimentary ticket for the 7:05 p.m. game with Great Lakes.

* Here's another example of good guys finishing last. Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar filed for bankruptcy last week. Among some of those owed money are his ex-wife ($3 million), the Cleveland Browns ($1.5 million) and the owner of the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League ($725,000). Investments in real estate in Florida proved to be the biggest downfall for the 45-year-old.

* The International Hockey League this week added a seventh franchise. Quad City, formerly of the UHL and the AHL, will join the IHL for the upcoming season. It gives the league seven teams, including newcomer Dayton. In addition, Evansville is expected to join the league in 2010 or 2011.

* The future of the Fort Wayne Freedom in the Continental Indoor Football League appears in doubt. Players from this year's league runners-up, which lost to unbeaten Chicago 58-48 in the championship game, have not yet been paid for the complete season. Among those on the Freedom is Fairview grad Scott Heighland.

* Starters and reserves for this year's Major League All-Star game will be announced on Sunday. Defiance High School grad Chad Billingsley of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is second in the National League in wins, third in innings pitched, fourth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA, is expected to be one of those named to the National League squad for the July 14 game in St. Louis.

* The Fort Wayne Mad Ants will keep their NBA Developmental League affiliations with the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bcks for next season. NBA teams can assign players in their first or second year to the Mad Ants up to three times during the season.

* Ten golf carts in St. Joseph County in Indiana (South Bend area), including five from Bowler's Country Club, have been stolen in the past two months. Only one of the carts, taken from either golf courses or homes, has been recovered.

* The University of Toledo football team will have a pair of non-league games kick off at noon this season. The Rockets, which play Ohio State on Sept. 19 at Cleveland Browns Stadium starting at noon. will also have a noon game at Purdue on Sept. 5. The starting times were recently announced.

* Sam Hornish Jr. rates 25th overall and 21st over the past six races in the Cup Series point standings. Hornish is also fourth in the Closers category, which ranks drivers on their average spots gained in a race. Only Greg Biffle, Reed Sorenson and Jeff Gordon lead Hornish in that category.

* As was the case through much of his career, Julio Franco has gone about working unnoticed. The fomer major leaguer, who retired at the age of 49, is the manager with the Gulf Coast League Mets in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Their season opened last week.

* Bowling Green State University hockey coach Scott Paluch has stepped down to be regional manager for USA Hockey's new American Development Model, providing associations across the country a blueprint for optimal athlete development. Assistant coach Dennis Williams, former head coach at Neumann College, will be interim head coach for the 2009-10 season.

* More from BGSU with the women's basketball team being selected as a first-round host of a preseason Women's NIT game. The Falcons face Chicago State on Friday, Nov. 13. The BG-Chicago State winner plays the Eastern Illinois-Ohio State winner in round two. A field of 16 teams was selected this week.