3/7/10 Letters to Sports

Thank you from Bickleton girls

To the sports editor — We would like to thank the Yakima Herald-Republic, the Yakima SunDome personnel, the WIAA, our sponsor, AAU and Mr. Paul Campbell for the gracious treatment they gave us while we were at the state 1B basketball tournament.

We also want to thank coach Emily Barnhart, her assistants, Neal Brown and Selena Naught, and Mr. Palmer, out superintendent for getting us there.

We were no doubt one of the smallest high schools at the tournament, but we have the greatest fans. We love Mr. Nelson and our pep band.

Thank you to all the alumni, former coaches, family members and friends who came from far and near to cheer us on, and, of course, thanks to our “B-town” fans and family for hanging in there with us. We could feel your support every time we hit the court.

We love you all. Being at state was a dream come true for all of us, and we will never forget it. Thanks, Yakima, and thanks to the world’s greatest fans.

BICKLETON GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM

Thanks to Central Valley for band support

To the sports editor — I went to the Davis High school regional basketbal game. Davis was playing Richland High School.

When I entered the stadium I noticed there were two bands playing. One was Richland’s and the other was the Central Valley High band from Spokane. I thought to myself, “What are they doing here?” I sat down the game got started and I realized the Central Valley band was playing for Davis.

I found myself tapping my toes to the music. I watched as the band director was coordinating songs with the Davis cheerleaders and the student fan section. I was amazed how the Central Valley Band members embraced the Pirates as they would their own team.

Great plays were met with cheers from kids who don’t even know the kids on the court. My son (a member of the Pirates) told me how uplifting it was to have such an active and enthusiastic band behind them.

I witnessed a part of the game that gets overlooked sometimes — true sportsmanship. Thank you to the Central Valley pep band for cheering us to victory. Thank you to the Davis parents, players and coaches for reconizing the difference the band made in the victory. What a great high school game.

ANGELA ALLEN
Yakima

A great Granger accomplishment

To the sports editor — It is always great to have a winning basketball team represent your school but it is quite unique to have both a girls and boys district champion from one school. Granger High School accomplished that task last weekend.

Their success did not come without sacrifice from the players.  Extra training, giving up private time, increased work loads because of practice were accepted and worked into their daily lives.

Good coaching and support from the parents, grandparents, friends and community that have stood by them since preschool also add to the mix to create the championship teams we celebrate today.

We are so proud of each and everyone of you.

HELEN REDDOUT
Outlook

2/28/10 Letters to Sports

Sunnyside boys coverage lacking

To the sports editor — I am very disappointed in the Herald’s report on the boys 3A district championship game Saturday night (Feb. 20).

Sunnyside fought off a very spirited West Valley team to claim its first district championship in many, many years. I noticed you did, however, have a good recap of the girls District game between Hanford and West Valley.

What I would like to know is, why didn’t the paper make a bigger deal about our championship? Our boys worked hard for this and deserve a little more recognition.

Patrick Watts
Sunnyside

White Swan teams deserve more

To the sports editor — I am and always will be a Swanner, which is a White Swan Cougar fan. Over the years I have watched the Cougars go to state tourney after state tourney and have always been very supportive. We may not be one of the biggest cities in the Valley, but we do have a bigger fan base than a lot of other schools. The Cougars do not get the recognition they deserve, I feel, along with a lot of other people that support White Swan. We would like to open the sports page and see our team on the front page when it is so much deserved. Both the boys and girls will be playing for district championship tonight (Thursday) and there is not one word mentioned about the games or how well they are doing in their leagues. We love our team just as much as Sunnyside Christian, La Salle, or any other team out there. Please give us some much needed attention. Please, please, please.

Sally P. Armour
Toppenish

2/21/10 Letters to Sports

Help Seahawks mascot battle MS

To the sports editor — Blitz, the Seahawks mascot, needs our help! The man behind the suit, Ryan Asdourian, was my college roommate and remains one of my closest friends to this day. In addition to his job at Microsoft, he performs more than 100 appearances per year as Blitz, including Walk MS and nonprofit events.

We discovered recently that he has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease. This is an all-call for Yakima Seahawks fans to show your support, inspire hope, and find a cure. To start, visit www.BlitzTacklesMS.com or make plans like I am for the Walk MS event in Seattle April 11.

Go Seahawks!

Joe Ketterer
Yakima

Paper missed a golden opportunity

To the sports editor — How is it possible that the sports section of the Sunday paper (Feb. 14) can  have so much coverage for two ice skaters who won an silver and a bronze at the Olympics, and not one word for a skier who won the first gold for the United States?

Stan Hughes
Yakima

Thanks to teams and volunteers

To the sports editor — Youth Basketball of America would like to thank all of the teams that participated in the first annual Sweethearts and Hoops Valentine’s Basketball Tournament. We look forward to future tournaments and league play. Please check out www.yboa.org. Thank you.

David Morehouse
State director

Kyler Bachofner
Tournament director

A spectacular night for Eisenhower girls

To the sports editor — Thank you, Ike girls for a spectacular game against Hanford on Feb. 9.

It was a great competition and, better yet, good sportsmanship.

Honoring the Ike players with flowers and introducing the team and their families demonstrated the value of family, staff and community support.

The cheerleaders were superb and the mini-cheerleaders were a joy to behold. The band was amazingly good. Wow!

Congratulations girls varsity team 2010, may you all achieve your goals and dreams, especially my favorite team member, No. 44 (Jessica Bush).

Barbara Hegel
Yakima

1/10/09 Letter to sports

Keep tourneys as they are ||

To the sports editor — I’m the girls basketball coach at Granger High School, and I’m writing to call attention to the WIAA’s intent to destroy 80 years of high school basketball tradition by changing the format of the state basketball tournaments.

After years of losing money in the Tacoma Dome and rather than changing venues, the WIAA plans to float a proposal that would reduce the field in all six tournaments to 8 teams and consolidate the 3A and 4A in Tacoma, the 2A and 1A in Yakima and the 2B and 1B in Spokane.  This would keep at home 96 schools who get a chance to play at state under the current format.

As the coach of the team that finished 3rd and 2nd in the 1A the last two years, my players are the poster children for what’s wrong with this idea. Under the new format, we would likely not have qualified for state either year.

Education and athletics creates dreams for many people. This proposal would be a dreambreaker instead of a dreammaker for far too many kids.

I encourage all high school hoop fans to write the WIAA and express displeasure at this pending development and challenge them to emphasize opportunity for student-athletes by considering new venues rather than changing the existing format.

Andy Affholter

Granger High School girls basketball coach

12/06/09 Letter to Sports

Paper should have done more on Fuerst ||

To the sports editor — On Nov. 22, the Herald-Republic’s story on the Eisenhower-Ferris football playoff game reported Joe Fuerst’s ejection and added that an Ike representative “was told that one official saw Fuerst kick a player in the helmet after being tackled.”

That was the newspaper’s last print report on the most important play of Ike’s 11-1 season. Readers were left to wonder what actually happened, with no follow-up report, no mention that the newspaper put a 39-second tape on its website the next day showing that a Ferris player kicked Fuerst in the side as they landed out of bounds and that the only other kicking was the two players equally flailing their legs to disentangle as they lay on the ground.

It’s clear from watching the tape that Fuerst should not have been ejected. The most sensible call would have been offsetting personal-foul penalties and a warning to both players. Online comments leaned heavily toward that type of call.

But in print, the newspaper didn’t report on what its own website was showing, or the reaction it was getting.  With no apologies to electronic or internet media, if it’s not in print, where all consumers have the opportunity to see it in a lasting form, it really hasn’t been reported. Newspapers should not relegate interesting and important stories to the internet without reference to them in print, or they give up that advantage.

JIM SCOGGINS

Yakima

11/29/09 Letter to Sports

All-league selection process is flawed

To the sports editor — I agree with Karen Thompson (Letters to sports, Nov. 22). All-league teams should be the best.

When you lead the CBBN in assists with 14 and goals scored on your team with 13, you should certainly qualify for first team. When you either assisted or scored on over 50 percent of the total goals scored by your team, you should certainly qualify for first team. When you have 40 points for the season (two points for a goal and one point for an assist) which is one point shy of a single season record for your school, you should certainly qualify for first team.

Is the selection process flawed? Let’s make good decisions.

Richard Allen

Yakima

11/22/09 Letters to Sports

Leave decisions to the coaches

To the sports editor — I grew up playing baseball in Yakima, coming up through the various programs — Pony League, Scarlets, Blues and Beetles — in the 1980s.

Back then that was the natural progression and the coaches were all on the same page developing fundamentals and skills aimed at the ultimate goal of winning.

At the Senior Legion level if your players haven’t developed the basic fundamentals required to have success, they are not likely to advance. There are very few exceptions.

The assessment of talent is made by the coach and decisions are made between the lines, oftentimes in heated situations.

Parents of players have no objectivity and sometimes barely maintain rational behavior during games.

A good coach must define success for his players. A positive learning experience? When I played for Bob Garretson, it was a loud and clear experience if I didn’t perform.

As Bob Oliphant used to say: “You can always sack groceries at Safeway.”

The same as his predecessor, Mike Bailey understands what it takes to develop players, play fundamental baseball and ultimately win.

Once again the Yakima Youth Baseball professionals yanked on the reins before Mike could get out of the gate. Until you people realize that you can’t run baseball programs from the bleachers, Yakima will not renew its rightful place among the top baseball towns in America.

DAVID JOHNSON

Naches

Thanks for the help, Selah junior varsity

To the sports editor — As the high school football season draws to a close and out last teams fight to remain in the hunt for a championhip, I would like to extend my gratitude to a few members of the Selah junior varsity football team.

As a supervisor for the Toppenish School district, I am given the opportunity each year to welcome many teams to our fields, gyms and tracks. More often than not, certain reputations precede teams and assumptions are made by student-athletes, parents and fans.

Late this October, I was taken aback by the actions of the visiting Vikings.

Not only was the coaching staff excellent in their approach in attitude and leadership toward the kids, that excellence was reflected by the players as well. As the game ended and I made my way to the field to greet parents and players on my way to picking up the field, I was shocked by what I found.

This is because, as I paused to speak to Coach “Woody,” I found when I turned back around four or five Selah players were walking toward me with all of the field markers and two other coaches were carrying the down markers. In a matter of two minutes, the field was completely clean; a task that would have taken me 20 minutes to do by myself in the cold.

This is an amazing demonstration of sportsmanship, and in my opinion downright unselfishness. Finding myself overwhelmed with tasks at events such as these, it was amazing to see the visiting team reaching out to lend a hand.

ZACH DORR

Wapato

11/15/09 Letters to Sports

All-League teams should be the best

To the sports editor — Many fantastic athletes in our community participate in high school sports. While team records are kept to decide who moves on to play-offs, personal records are also kept. These records aid in helping coaches determine which players are rewarded by all area conference teams. In my opinion if you aren’t going to reward the best of the league, then the process holds no merit. This should be an honor given to the best. It should not matter what grade you are in, or who your family is, it should be the best.

Coaches and athletic directors from the CWAC should be ashamed of themselves for making this something other than what its intent is.

Prosser’s girls soccer team was led by Helen Petersen, CWAC league leading scorer. Petersen scored 27 regular season goals and was third in the league with assists (nine). These numbers should more than speak for themselves, and yet the CWAC coaches voted her to second team.

When the first team clearly is not made up of the best, then a complete mockery is made of the process.

To the CWAC coaches, make these teams what they are meant to be, the best of the best.

KAREN THOMPSON

Prosser

11/08/09 Letters to Sports

New football league not connected to YVCC

To the sports editor — The purpose of this letter is to dispel any misconceptions that Yakima Valley Community College is starting a football program.

Simply stated, YVCC is not sponsoring, sanctioning or starting an intercollegiate football program. Mountain Northwest Football, a wholly independent and separate entity, has formed a league and mandated that their participants be enrolled in a minimum of five credits at their local community college. This requirement was established by the league without the involvement of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges or any of  its member schools.

While recent newspaper articles and advertisements may mislead its readers, it is imperative to state formally that YVCC has no plans now or in the foreseeable future to discuss the feasibility of potentially adding football or any other sport to its existing offering of intercollegiate athletic programs.

It should also be noted that any player participating in the Mountain Northwest Football League could potentially have their intercollegiate athletic eligibility jeopardized by enrolling in less than a full load of coursework.

RAY FUNK
Yakima Valley Community College
Director of Athletics

Where’s the respect for flag, anthem?

To the sports editor — Watching the beginning of the Patriots-Buccaneers game in England, I was quite angered.

When our national anthem was being played, hardly any U.S. player had their hand on their heart and many were looking around to see if they were on the big screen.

When the UK anthem played, the crowd sang along with their presenter. I don’t know UK etiquette, but ours is clear and taught in first grade.

I’ve seen NFL and NBA players disregard our anthem. It’s sad to see, especially when we have a football game in a different country and most players don’t care about patriotism.

When we’re in a different country one would thing to stand up for the USA. I feel the professional league owners should have it customary for players to uphold proper respect to our flag and anthem.

These professional players are looked up to, if they can’t respect their country’s flag and anthem, what does it tell the kids?

GARY OLSON
Yakima

Davis’ victory deserved more paper coverage

To the sports editor — I am an Eisenhower football fan. However, I have been impressed and pleased with Davis’ football team since they played Ike to a tie, only to lose in overtime. Later, they lost to Pasco in overtime. Finally a win came their way with a trip to the coast. A couple of losses after than didn’t dampen their spirit.

Then came the Pirates’ game against Hanford, and Davis, according to our intrepid sports prognosticators, were serious underdogs. Guess what? Davis upset Hanford 50-17. David Trimble had a career night, Jose Martinez and Sebastian Hunt had fumble runbacks and the entire team evidently had a great game.

My question is, wasn’t this tremendous upset entitled to a headline and story on the front sports page instead of being tucked under “Summaries and Stats”?

DICK RICE
Yakima

6/14/09 Letters to sports

Rams an example for Little Leaguers

To the sports editor — I would like to congratulate the West Valley Rams for their third-place Trophy at the State 3A Tournament at Safeco Field.

Coach Klayton Wyckoff, his coaching staff and, of course, the players show all of us in West Valley Little League all the qualities of a true champion.

They have taught our Little Leaguers how to win with class and lose with grace, show how hard work can lead to big things and gave our kids a real eye opening experience in playing in a big league park that they too can be in their shoes one day.

Some of the players are also umpires in our League and have been great role models for our kids.  The kids have been able to interact and learn from these young men, and now they have a solid connection with these players that have played at the highest level in the State.

We appreciate all that Klayton and assistant Kevin VanDeBrake have done for our young League and look forward to the day when this batch of Little Leaguers are playing for them at Safeco.

BILL ROSS

President

West Valley Little League

Congrats to Rangers from a past champion

To the sports editor — As a senior, I started on the Naches Valley baseball team that won the school’s first state championship in 1991.

I have fond memories of the title game, in which we were down by one run in the late innings and then came back to tie and win the game by one. We were called the “Cardiac Kids” because we would get behind in many games, but routinely come back in a thrilling manner to win.

I’m happy to see the 2009 Ranger baseball team finally win the big game after coming so close in previous years. It is a real tribute to the excellent coaches and players at Naches Valley of which Mr. Cruzen, my coach in 1991, is still a part of.

Great job, guys. This will be one of your greatest memories in life.

STEVE YOUNG

Prosser

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