1)         Family ?  Wife Kathy, married for 22 years, Daughter Alexandra, Son Scott, Was too busy thinking and making plans for the 2007 NAFA Masters East World Series that I completely forgot our 22^nd wedding anniversary, yikes ! 

2)         Age ?  48 

3)         Occupation ?  Industrial Contractor working at Stelco, Dofasco, Ontario Hydro,Petro Canada, Ford etc.Vice President USWA Local 3692 Hamilton 

4)         Education : Westdale High School Hamilton  Famous Westdale Alumni : Comedian Martin Short, CFL Quarterback & Coach Ron Lancaster, Comedian Eugene Levy, The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, CFL Legend Russ Jackson, Steve Staios Edmonton Oilers, Gord Lewis Teenage Head Band, David Braley owner of the BC Lions, NHL Legend Harry Howell, Brian Williams CBC & TSN Sports Broadcaster 

5)         What positions have you held in Fastball ?   Player / Coach / Executive etc.  Didn’t get involved in fastball until I was 32 years old, played a little but always enjoyed being involved with the administrative part of a team, recruiting, uniforms, waterboy, etc.  2006 ISC II Game Controller, Vice President and founding member Canadian Masters Fastball Association, 2008 OASA Men’s Committee, 2008 Co Chair & Eastern Canadian Rep. NAFA Masters World Series Committee, Web Site Administrator - Ontario Masters Fastball web site.  

6)         How long have you been involved in Fastball ? 16 years, primarily masters teams 

7)         Other sports / interests you’ve been involved in and accomplishments ?  Hockey, boating, coaching my Son’s Special Olympics basketball team, amateur wrestling, track & field, baseball, MMA : City of Hamilton wrestling Champion. Track & field athlete of the year at Westdale High School Hamilton.  Joined the Niagara Falls Optimists Track Club after high school. When not at a fastball tournament I like to be at the cottage cruising around on my boat. Enjoy running my annual hockey pool which I have been doing for 23 years, 171 entries in the pool this year.  

8)         What are some of your fastball career highlights & accomplishments ? Hamilton Men’s League Champions 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 NAFA “ A “ Ontario Qualifier Champions with Hamilton Gators ( Innerkip, Ont. )   2001 Played against Eddie Feigner’s The King & His Court ( Beamsville, Ont. )    2002 Ontario Masters Champions Stoney Creek Gators. ( Ingersoll, Ont. )  2002 Eastern Canadian Masters Champions Stoney Creek Gators ( Fredericton, NB )2004 Canadian Masters Silver Medalists Stoney Creek Gators ( Cobourg, Ont. )  2005 OASA Bronze Medals with Waterdown Hammer Masters ( Port Perry, Ont. )  2007 Ontario Masters Champions with the Cobourg Force ( Cobourg, Ont. )  2007 OASA Intermediate B Champions with Cobourg Force ( Newmarket, Ont. )   20^th place @ 2007 ISC World Tournament Peterborough Windmillers ( Kitchener, Ont. )   5^th Place @ 2007 NAFA Masters World Series Cobourg Force ( Rockford, Illinois ) 

9)         Who are some of your favourite teammates / associates and opposing players to play with and against over the years ?  Fred Clyke, Mike Crawford, Sam Forbes, Jodie Schnarr, Mike Kelly, Dave Kingdon, Rory Hustler, Brian Prowse, Dan Duemo, Cam Emerson, Henry Donders, Kyle Davis, Joe Reeve, Dave Benallick, Ron Chambers, Harold Passmore, Rod Fevreau, Carl Boomhouwer, Lance Winn, Rob Gilmour, Pete Kucharuck, Brain French, Dean Carr, Pete Spitzig, Sally and Fossil, Sylvia Ryan, Craig Minifie, Al Ball, Troy Gilmour, Wayne Wells, Doug Charlton, Dave Reynolds, Blair Setford, Glenn Inglehart, Doug Levy, Benjie Hedgecock, Alex Rutherford, Gary Wren, George Ryder, Bernie Pollock, Blair McBratney, Rob & Tom Watson, Dana Seiling, Chris McSorley, Greg Bacher, Mark McEachern, Shawn Steinhoff, Mark Young, Brad Reinguette, John Kemp, Oliver brothers, Rick Hames, Brad Meldrum, Dave Martin, Steve Ketchell, Brian McGuire, Jim Flanagan & Al Doran. 

10)      Favourite tournament ? 2002 OASA Masters Championship, 2004 Canadian Masters Championship, North Bay Masters Tournament, NAFA Masters World Series 

11)      Plans for 2008 & beyond ?   Retired from fastball

12)      Any additional thoughts ?  Thanks to some very generous sponsors over the years, Bob Litzen, Litzen’s Source for Sports, Jeff “Newf” Murphy, Bill ‘Rookie” Fairney. Probably the greatest fastball person I’ve EVER met is Sylvia “Sparky” Ryan.

 2008 OASA Masters "A" & B" Provincial  Championships

 July 18, 19, 20  / 2008  Niagara Falls, Ont.                                     

Here are the eligibilty rules as found on the OASA web site ...

OASA Masters

The OASA has confirmed Niagara Falls as the official host for the 2008 OASA Masters "A" & "B" Championship.  Stay tuned for further information including accomodations etc.

Location : Ker Park, Niagara Falls

Date : Fri. July 18, Sat. July 19th & Sun. July 20th

One new team so far : Niagara Falls
2 teams returning after a 1 year absence : Waterdown and Alvinston.

http://www.infoniagara.com/

http://www.niagarafallstourism.com/ 

See the attached Q & A survey form.

Please consider filling out the following questionnaire, I'm looking for ANYONE associated with Masters fastball in Ontario & beyond, players, coaches, executives, umpires, sponsors etc.     Got an interesting story to tell ?  If you would like to be featured please answer the 12 questions on the Q & A survey and forward your answers to ontariomasters(at)hotmail(dot)com You don't need to answer any of the questions you don't want to. Please remember this is to promote you and masters fastball in a positive way. Try to put the emphasis on masters fastball as much as possible. Returned questionnaires will be featured on the Ontario Masters Fastball web site.

I did some research on the history of the OASA Masters Championship including past champions, Jack Cook Award winners and individual award winners. Some information is missing, if you can fill in the missing pieces please contact me.

Check out the photo slideshow from the 2007 NAFA Masters World Series in Carson City Nevada, photos by Maddy Flanagan.

Click the following link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to the photo and then click on the photo to start the slideshow : http://fastpitchwest.com/morningbrief/?p=2181

2007 NAFA Masters World Series web site : www.masters.nafafastpitch.com

First round game times for the Eastern Zone Championship now posted.

 Cobourg Force are Ontario Champions !

The Cobourg Force Men's Fastball Team won the Ontario (OASA) Intermediate Men's "B" Provincial Championship over the Labour Day long weekend. The 8 team tournament was held in Sharon/ Queensville ( Newmarket area. )

The Force, primarily a master's team went throught the tournament with a 4-0 record.

21st ANNUAL WORLD SENIOR MEN’S FASTBALL TOURNAMENT
AUG. 31st, SEPT. 1st, 2nd, 2007  North Bay, Ontario

Casey's comes back for title; Championship win follows dramatic rally in semifinal.

Ken Pagan  /  The Nugget
Sports - Monday, September 03, 2007 

As Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

With Casey's trailing by six runs and down to their final three outs in the semifinal, many of the 200 fans at Johnson Field left to see the other game at Troy Field - and they missed one of the most exciting comebacks in local fastball annals.

Casey's scored six runs to force extra innings before pulling out a dramatic 12-11 semifinal win over the Oshawa Ravens, leaving enough left in the tank for a 3-1 win over the Porquis Junction KC Trappers to become the first local team in 10 years to win the World Senior Men's Fastball Tournament 'AA' championship.

A few members of Casey's - including pitchers Ken Besner and Mark Schledewitz, catcher Jim Lisk and third baseman Terry Vendetti - also played for the last local team to win, the TCR Bullets, in 1997.

But the odds of Casey's even getting to the final weren't good after they committed five errors and allowed six runs in the top of the fifth inning in the semifinal, handing Oshawa a 10-4 lead.

'Play right to the end'

But Casey's still had three outs to go and there were a lot of guys eager to make up for a bad inning.

"You never give up, not with this batting lineup," Besner said. "We had really good sticks all weekend and the guys were hitting well, so you've got to play right to the end."

Lisk smashed a two-run homer with none out.

Three batters later, left-fielder Luc 'Red' Gagnon made amends for a couple of earlier mistakes with another monster shot over the centre-field fence.

Second baseman Reg Reichstein, who was drilled on the hand by a pitch, later came around to score and send the game to extra innings.

After the Ravens went up 11-10 in the top of the sixth, speedy centre-fielder Bill Reid of Casey's drove home Vendetti for the tying run and Reid came around to score the winning run on Lisk's lined shot into the gap to cap the dramatic comeback.
"We were down six runs (in the fifth), but we had the top of the order coming up and all you have to do is get a couple runners on - we had a couple of home runs and we were right back in it," Lisk said. "That was probably one of the best games I've ever played in." The Porquis Junction KC Trappers, led by hard-throwing pitcher Frank Kujawinski, knocked off the two-time defending champion Cold Spring Cats in the other semifinal.

But Casey's, the North Bay Senior Men's Fastball League champions, carried their semifinal momentum into the championship game.

In the second inning, seeing his first pitch of the game, Gagnon crushed another long home run to centre-field to give Casey's a 1-0 lead.

Leading off the third inning, Casey's shortstop Ed Roy uncoiled like Reggie Jackson and crushed the first pitch over the right-centre field fence for a 2-0 lead. The next batter, Reid, followed with a triple and came around to score on Lisk's single.

The Trappers answered in the top of the fourth when Pete Barber had his second hit to drive in Mike Bourgeois, but Besner dug deep to grind out the final five outs - he surrendered a couple lined rockets in the fifth, but one was snared by Vendetti at third base and the other by Gagnon in left field.

Besner, named most valuable player of the championship game, pitched six of the seven games on the weekend - including all four in the playoffs after Schledewitz, who was picked up to provide some weekend relief, injured a hamstring Friday.

"If Sledge would have been able to keep pitching, we would have been in really good shape, but after you get going, you don't feel it too much," Besner said of the weekend workload.

Both Besner and Lisk, who have played together for more than 20 years, credited some weekend additions to the lineup for helping put Casey's over the top.

"This year, we picked up a couple of guys - Serge Violette at first base and Eddie Roy (who usually plays with a Garson team in tournaments) at shortstop - so that really helped us defensively and offensively," Besner said. "And our team was already close, so I think it just all came together."

"We brought Schledewitz out of retirement to throw a few innings to help Kenny stay fresh and it was appreciated," Lisk said. "Kenny was (fading) at the end, but those extra innings helped us a lot."

Kent Trusses 8, Peterborough 4

In the 32-team tournament's 'A' division final, Kent Trusses from South River made it a regional sweep with an 8-4 win over the defending 'A' division champions from Peterborough.

Don Folliott, named most valuable player in the championship game, had a two-run triple that broke the game open, while Darryl Percival also had two hits and two RBIs. Pitcher Steve Attwell, who combined on the mound with Folliot during the weekend's seven games, earned the win in the final game.

"I think it was a real team effort," said team captain Eldy MacIntosh, one of five members of the South River team who have played together since 1979. "Don (Folliot) logged a lot of innings, he's our horse. But he knows when he runs out of gas and we were able to save Steve (Attwell) for when it counted in this game."

The South River team no longer plays regularly in a league, instead getting together for weekly practices and playing three tournaments each summer.

But they play hard, evidenced by a takeout slide at second base which knocked down the Farquhar Chrysler shortstop and broke up a double play in the quarter-final, Sunday morning.

"For us, playing seven games is pretty tough, so it was huge - the guys gave a great effort," MacIntosh said. "I really have to commend the guys, because when you only practise, it's tough. It's not the same as playing games."

Smith named honorary chairman

Longtime local fastball supporter Karl Smith served as honorary chairman for the 2007 tournament.

Smith, who plays with Farquhar Chrysler, was a founding member of the North Bay Senior Fastball league and has been in all 21 world tournaments as well as 27 CFB Silver Fox tournaments.

Earlier this season, Smith took a line drive on the shin that later became infected and left him on crutches for much of the summer. But he made a return to the plate in Friday's feature game, helping Farquhar Chrysler to a 7-0 win over the Hamilton Pirates.

Crouching for love of the game; Ricci in 31st year of calling North Bay balls and strikes

Ken Pagan
For: www.nugget.ca

- Saturday, September 01, 2007 @ 08:00

He's been right in the thick of things with all the best ballplayers in North Bay for the past 30 years, but he's never swung a bat or fielded a ball.

Still, nobody has seen North Bay's best hitters and pitchers over the years the way Lui Ricci has from behind home plate.

Ricci, 44, is in his 31st year of umpiring local baseball/fastball and he's still going strong - working 16 games this weekend during the World Senior Men's fastball tournament, in fact.

He started umpiring hardball as a 13-year-old in 1977 and when umpires Wally Patterson and Darryl Laxton needed another official for a Gateway Major Fastball Association tournament, they coaxed the 13-year-old into working the bases.

He soon began working games behind the plate and never looked back - although it was intimidating at first.

"I remember doing a game between the Merchants and Mr. Transmission and Don Grierson was the batter," Ricci says of one of his first games. "He'd always let the first couple pitches go by and I remember calling a strike like Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun - 'Strike?' - and he'd look back and shake his head.

"But that gave me confidence, calling strikes with guys like Don Grierson at bat."

There were also times third base coaches such as the late Ron Duffy would come and question a call.

"He was something like six-foot-six and it was like I was looking up to the friendly giant," says Ricci, who stands five-foot-two. "It was intimidating, but afterwards, they'd say, 'Good game, ump' and from then on it was awesome."

When Ricci first started behind the plate in 1977, he wore only a mask and soccer shin pads - not the inflatable chest and neck pads that umpires are equipped with today.

"I don't know how we did it," he says, noting he still regularly takes foul balls off the wrists, shoulders, legs and other body parts.

Youth baseball and fastball participation in North Bay has dwindled from when he first started, but Ricci still holds down a schedule that has him on a field five nights a week with ladies and senior men's fastball or senior baseball.

Umpiring can be a thankless job - with any call, half the players on the field and half the fans might suggest new prescription eyeglasses.

But even after 30 years, Ricci loves coming to the park every night. "It's enthusiasm," says Ricci, who has also coached local hockey for 30 years, starting as a teenager because he was "too small" as a player.

"If you're enthusiastic, you'll be respected by the players. If they have a question, they can come talk to the umpire and we'll give you an answer back. It's all about respect.

"That comes with experience. If you're umpiring every night and the players know how you umpire, you'll get that respect. If you show hustle on and off the field as an umpire, the ballplayers will, too. If you don't show that, the ballplayers will think, 'Ah, the umpire doesn't care.'"

Ricci also isn't shy to come clean about something North Bay players might have suspected at one time or another over the years - yes, he has missed a call.

'We're not perfect'

In one instance, Ricci called a runner out on second on what he mistakenly thought was a force play, but the runner should have been safe because no tag was applied.

"I remember saying, 'Geez, I blew the call' so they put the game under protest and we had to play the whole game over from there on. "Hey, it happens. We're not perfect."

It's how he deals with the questionable calls and the sometimes-friendly taunts that has helped him survive 30 years and enables him to keep showing up with a smile on his face.

"I hear it all the time," he says of the heckling, usually good-natured. "They'll say, 'Hey umpie, stand up' (a crack at his vertically challenged stature) and I just chuckle. You have to give them a little smile.

"Because really, what are we here for? I'm here because I want to be around the ballplayers. I never played baseball, but here's my chance to give something back. You have to like the game. That's the bottom line."

The heckling they can handle, but the biggest problem umpires are facing is there are not enough of them.

"Boy, oh boy, do we need help," says Ricci, who won the Al Knapp Award for contribution to North Bay baseball in 1999.

There are few up-and-coming umpires getting involved, leaving veterans stretched to meet demand from various leagues.

"We're always scrambling," says Angie Cerisano, umpire-in-chief for both the senior men's fastball league and Softball Ontario's Zone 11.

Cerisano says there are eight to 12 senior men's fastball umpires through the season, but some nights are a stretch with various leagues playing at the same time.

Often, new umpires are former players looking to stay involved, rather than up-and-coming youngsters.

"I don't know whether it's the frustration from players, coaches or fans getting on umpires or whether it's a time factor - a lot of kids have other things to do these days," Cerisano says, noting it's a concern associations are dealing with throughout Ontario.

Cerisano started umpiring hardball in 1991, and was lured to fastball six years ago when Ricci came calling.

"We enjoy doing games together, because we both do it for the simple fact that we enjoy umpiring," Cerisano says. "It's not for the money, or anything else - we enjoy the game."

For Ricci and Cerisano, the adventure continues this weekend with the 32-team senior men's fastball tournament, for which 14 umpires have been enlisted, including four from Sudbury and one from Sault Ste. Marie.

Over the years, Ricci has seen first-hand the best players and teams, having worked a dozen provincial championship events. He watched the Fraser Tavern win provincial fastball championships in the 1980s and the King and His Court visit twice for exhibitions - Ricci even hosted a visiting team of bantam hardball players from Italy in the 1980s and showed them the hot Italian spots around North Bay.

"There's been some fantastic ball," Ricci says. "If my health is good, and I'm still enthusiastic and love it, I hope to do this another 20 years."

Derek Mayson of the Vancouver Grey Sox slams his elbow to the face of Troy Gilmour but Gilley hangs on and applies the tag for the out. Vancouver ( # 10 ISC ranked ) won the game 7-0. Several players from the Cobourg Force Masters Team are competing at the 2007 ISC World Tournament with the unranked Peterborough Murphy Windmillers.   

Click the following link for Game # 1 stats : 

http://www.iscfastpitch.com/uploads/File/2007%20ISC%20Files/12.htm

Peterborough rebounded in Game # 2 beating the # 17 ranked Bloomington Stix of Bloomington Illinois.

Click the following link for the Game # 2 stats :

http://www.iscfastpitch.com/uploads/File/2007%20ISC%20Files/24.htm

Peterborough picks up another win defeating the unranked Scarborough Royals, click the following link for Game # 3 stats.

http://www.iscfastpitch.com/uploads/File/2007%20ISC%20Files/38.htm

Game # 4 : Peterborough bows out of the tournament with a 9-1 mercy loss to the 20th. ranked Innerkip Eagles. Click the following link for Game # 4 stats.

http://www.iscfastpitch.com/uploads/File/2007%20ISC%20Files/55.htm

Peterborough ends the tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses.

Back row ( left to right )
Wayne Wells, Troy Gilmour, Craig Minifie, Joe Reeve, Kyle Davis, Dave Birnie, Bill Fairney, Fred Clyke, Mike Harnish, Rob Doncaster, John Garland, Dave Hedger
Front row ( left to right )
Rory Hustler, Al Ball, Scott Wasson, Steve Connelly, Dave Waldie, Brian McGuire, Mike Crawford, Ted Conway

Absent from photo - Sylvia Ryan, Manager

2007 OASA Masters Provincial Championship
Cobourg, Ontario
Legion Fields
Sat. July 21st. & Sunday July 22nd.

Red Division
Cobourg                                       
Ingersoll
Oshawa

Blue Division
Cold Springs
Waterloo
Minesing

Sat. 10:00 am

Cobourg - 11 ( 6 inns )
Oshawa - 4

WP - Wayne Wells
LP - Rick May

Game MVP'S

Cobourg - Scott Wasson
Oshawa - Bill Brady
               
Waterloo - 2
Minesing - 0

WP - Pete Spitzig relief by Doug Charlton
LP - Paul Priest

Game MVP'S
Minesing - Gord Zeggil
Waterloo - Jodie Schnarr ( HR )

1:00 pm

Oshawa - 9
Ingersoll - 2

WP - Mark Coutu
LP - Doug Jackson

Game MVP'S
Ingersoll - Chuck Davies
Oshawa - Mike Haddon               

Cold Springs - 0
Waterloo - 9

WP - Don Stebbings
LP - Steve Ketchell relief by Gary Vowles

Game MVP'S

Cold Springs - Darren Crouter
Waterloo - Sam Forbes ( HR )

Andy Dalgarno also had a home run for Waterloo

4:00 pm   

Cobourg - 8
Ingersoll - 5

WP - Mike Crawford relief by Wayne Wells
LP - Larry Cox

Game MVP'S
Ingersoll - Kevin Roulston
Cobourg - Ted Conway ( Grand Slam )
               
Minesing - 3
Cold Springs - 2

WP - Eric Rosenquist
LP - Gary Vowles

Game MVP'S
Cold Springs - Steve Parker
Minesing - Richard Thompson

7:00 pm   

#2 Red Cold Springs - 8 ( 8 inns )
#3 Blue Oshawa - 7

WP - Gary Vowles in relief of Steve Ketchell
LP - Mark Coutu in relief of Blair McBratney

Game MVP'S
Oshawa - Paul Papulkas
Cold Springs - Steve Mitts

#2 Blue Minesing - 3
#3 Red Ingersoll - 1

WP - Paul Priest with relief by Eric Rosenquist
LP - Doug Jackson

Game MVP'S
Ingersoll - Larry Lowes
Minesing - Paul Priest ( HR )

Sun. 10:00 am
   
Cobourg - 6
Minesing - 1

WP - Wayne Wells
LP - Kurt Glover

Game MVP'S
Minesing - Greg McLean
Cobourg - Kyle Davis 3 x 3, HR, 3 runs scored   

Waterloo - 12
Cold Springs - 4

WP - Doug Charlton
LP - Roger Cole with relief by Gary Vowles

Game MVP'S
Cold Springs - Paul Foucault
Waterloo - Andy Dalgarno


12:00 pm BRONZE

Minesing - 9 ( 6 inns )
Cold Springs - 2

WP - Paul Priest relief by Eric Rosenquist
LP - Steve Ketchell relief by Gary Vowles

2:00 pm GOLD MEDAL GAME

Waterloo Classics Starting Lineup

1. Paul Clemons
2. Jodie Schnarr
3. Jason Hope
4. Sam Forbes
5. Mike Kelly
6. Andy Dalgarno
7. Ron McWhirter
8. Don Stebbings
9. Todd Hay
10.Pete Spitzig

Substitutes

Lloyd Evans
Paul McCart
Doug Charlton
Dan Ferrede

Coaches

Paul McCart - 1b
Dana Seiling - 3b & Mgr.

Cobourg Force Starting Lineup

1. Scott Wasson 8
2. Steve Connelly 4
3. Kyle Davis 9
4. Craig Minifie 3
5. Troy Gilmour 2
6. Fred Clyke DP
7. Rob Doncaster 5
8. Ted Conway 7
9. Joe Reeve 6
10. Wayne Wells 1
11. Mike Harnish DR

Substitutes

Mike Crawford
Dave Hedger
John Garland
Al Ball
Bill Fairney
Dave Waldie
Brian McGuire
Rory Hustler

Coaching Staff

Sylvia Ryan - Manager
Dave Birnie - Coach
Brian McGuire - 3b coach
Dave Hedger - 1b coach

Umpires

Plate - Doug Cundall
1b - Gary Kipfer
3b - Brian Sharples
UIC - Steve Bedard

OASA Tournament Organizers / Convenors

Bob Abbot
George Ryder
Paddy Fitzgerald Nolan   


Cobourg Force - 17 ( 5 inns )
Waterloo Classics - 2

WP - Wayne Wells 5inns, 3hits, 11k, 1bb, 1hbp,
LP - Don Stebbings with relief by Doug Charlton & Pete Spitzig

Waterloo - Andy Dalgarno 1x1
Cobourg - Kyle Davis 4x5, HR,
Troy Gilmour 2x3, 1bb, HR

Cobourg Force are the 2007 Ontario Masters Champions

Gold - Cobourg Force
Silver - Waterloo Classics
Bronze - Minesing

Jack Cook Award - Jodie Schnarr, Waterloo

Waterloo Classics, 2007 OASA Silver Medalists