Let The Suds Flow As The Good Times Roll
By
Kathy Raczkowski
Some neighbors are not happy, and one in particular.
But at a May 28 public hearing, members of the Niwot community,
the Niwot Business Association and Boulder Creek Events successfully
demonstrated to Allan Beezley, Boulder County Liquor
Authority hearing officer, that Niwot’s summer concert series, Rhythm on the Rails, is a family-friendly
community-building event at which beer, wine, and margaritas should be
permitted to be sold.
The most adamant opponent of the weekly event, Jason Midyette, called it “an alcohol-fueled rock and roll
concert series” in a letter of oppostion to the
Boulder County Licensing Clerk. He further stated that it was “an inappropriate
use of land within a residential neighborhood.”
Two families who live near Midyette also
signed the letter, and five other Niwot households endorsed Midyette’s complaints.
After hearing testimony from the organizers and comments from more
than a dozen Niwotians about the character of the
gatherings, Beezley approved the Special Event Liquor
License Application submitted by Boulder Creek Events for the first three
concerts to be held in Whistle Stop Park in Niwot on Thursday evenings, which
began on June 12.
Midyette and Joan Rech, a
resident of Cottonwood Park West, were the only speakers who spoke against the
permit.
Beezley said applications for the remaining 11
scheduled concerts, although sponsored by other organizations,
would not be subject to public hearings and licenses to serve alcohol at such
events should automatically be issued, barring any significant new issues.
The person who initiated the opposition to the liquor license –
and to the concert series itself – was no longer present in the hearing room
when the decision was handed down.
Midyette has been opposed to the concert series, which
takes place across the street from his Murray Street and First Avenue home,
since last summer. The Boulder County Commissioners conditionally approved the
concert series and a farmer’s market last summer pursuant to a Special Use
Permit.
Although the concerts are within the acceptable noise limits of 80
decibels measured 25 feet from the property line, they are considerably louder
than what might be expected in a rural-residential neighborhood like Old Town
Niwot. Midyette told the hearing officer, “It’s a
nightmare that’s destroying my life.”
Clay Evans, a former resident of that neighborhood who has since
moved closer to town, noted, “The freight trains go by all the time and they’re
really loud. It’s a noisy place.” He said that the weekly concerts were nothing
compared to the noise of the railroad.
As for alcohol consumption at the concerts Evans said, “I do not
use alcohol, and I have an exceedingly low tolerance for people who overuse
it.” He noted that he has never
witnessed anyone overindulging.
Others agreed with Evans and added their own perspectives on the
events and how the concerts enhance the “community feeling” of the small town.
Professional musician Randall Dubois said, “The notion of a gazebo
in a town park is a beautiful thing.” He noted that at the majority of the
concerts he plays “kids cannot attend.”
Dubois called Rhythm on the Rails a family event where a dad can
have a beer and the kids can dance near the stage. He said he loved playing for
the children and watching them smile and dance.
Susan Wilson said, “The character of the event is completely
benign and family friendly.”
Nancy Wunderlich said her massage
business has thrived because of the booth she sets up. She said, “From the
bottom of my heart, it is a wonderful event. I invite you to come out.”
Organizers noted concessions they made, including efforts to
minimize the impact of the concerts on the closest neighbors by ending the
concerts earlier, installing soundboards, and changing the orientation of the
bandstand.
Still, the opponents continue to try to find reasons for the
county to shut the concerts down.
Rech said that ending the concerts earlier wasn’t
enough, because “9 p.m. is not early for a 6-year-old.” As to the liquor
licensing issue, she asked, “Is alcohol really necessary at a family event?”
For Robin Abb, who emcees the shows, it
is. She said people needed to relax, and that most adults won’t even hit the
dance floor until the sun is setting and they loosen up a bit with a beer.
“People love these events,” Abb said,
citing how attendees ask that promoters put up heat lamps so the concerts can
continue on into the fall.
The denial of a special event liquor license for the concerts
wouldn’t end the series, but it would take away a critical fundraising tool
used to pay the bands so the concerts can remain free to the public, even
though the alcohol sales only amount to a few hundred dollars a night.
The food vendors’ sales outnumber alcohol sales more than 2-1,
according to Boulder Creek Events spokesman Robert Dudley. “The longest lines
we have are not at the beer tent,” he said. “It’s at the jumpy castle.”
Speakers in favor of continuing the series included 12-year-old
Allie Wise, who sometimes mans the jumpy castle. “Until these concerts began,
us kids had nothing to do,” she said, noting that Whistle Stop Park on Thursday
evenings has become the only place she gets to see her friends who go to other
schools. Before she stepped away from the podium she added, “And I’ve never
seen anyone drunk.”
Rhythm on the Rails summer
concert series and farmer’s market runs from 6-8:45 p.m. every Thursday night
throughout the summer in Whistle Stop Park, near the caboose in Old Town Niwot.
Live music generally begins at 6:45 p.m. Admission is free.
By Liz Emmett-Mattox
This year’s Fourth of July celebration in Niwot will combine some
old favorites with some new twists. The day will begin in the traditional
fashion with a pancake breakfast outside Niwot Market from 7:30-9:30 am. Bert
Steele will be out there wielding his spatula, and the market crew will be
joined by the Niwot Rotary Club dishing up pancakes and more.
Dawn Buckingham, owner of Niwot Cycles, will also be in the
parking lot, supervising the bike decorating. Proceeds from the Pancake
Breakfast and any donations collected for bike decorations will be put towards
the purchase of the caboose that stands in Whistle Stop Park.
At 10 a.m. the parade will start, travelling
the traditional route down Second Avenue to Niwot Road, ending at Cottonwood
Square. This year, the new Niwot Rotary Club is organizing the parade.
Buckingham will be organizing bike riders;
anyone who wants to ride in the parade is welcome to join the bike brigade. “It
should be a good time,” Buckingham said.
After the parade, visitors will see one of
the major changes to this year’s event. Instead of a concert with several bands
performing one after another at Whistle Stop Park, musicians will perform at
several locations around town between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Randall Dubois will bring his blues guitar
to Winot Coffee, singer/songwriter Laurie Dameron will be in the parking lot next to Niwot Realty,
Rebecca Gauss will play the harp outside the old firehouse, and the Niwot
Community Band will be found at Left Hand Corner between Second Avenue and
Niwot Road.
Rockin’
Robin Abb said that the promotions committee felt
that in previous years, the concerts in Whistlestop Park drew big crowds, but that people didn’t stay very long because it was hot.
Trees have been planted, but they’re not yet providing much shade. So the
musicians have spread out all over town.
Abb said
that the aim was, “to keep people in town, encourage the stores to stay open,
and make some registers ring. We’re hoping people will do their patriotic duty
and shop locally.”
In addition to the regular options for food
and drink in town, Garden Gate Cafe will be providing barbecue in the parking
lot near Niwot Realty.
Closing out the day, Niwot Cycles will
celebrate its second anniversary with a concert by Kevin Dooley and Friends at
1 p.m.
Left Hand Laurel Dr.
Richard Cross
Dr. Richard Cross had been to Jamaica, where his mother grew up, to visit his grandparents plenty of times. But in 1996, when a church group from Longmont organized a group of health care professionals and invited Cross, of Boulder Vision Associates in Gunbarrel, to be part of their Eye Team, he saw a side of the country he had never seen before.
When the team arrived, there were hundreds of people lined up at the clinic. Working hard, the team saw about 100 patients each day, but turned away an equal number.
Seeing so many people who needed treatment, Cross realized that a single trip wasn’t going to be enough, so began his annual visits to the rural areas of Jamaica where he and other volunteers provide vision screening and optical services to those who otherwise would not have access to such care.
As Cross continued to organize groups of doctors, opticians and volunteers, he found that people wanted to help support his mission with donations of money, supplies and equipment. In 2001, he and Dr. Joseph Myers, a friend from optometry school, created the Eye Health Institute, a nonprofit organization which could accept donations and support their efforts.
Said Myers of his partner, “Richard has been the driving force behind this whole operation. He has such a big heart and it really wouldn’t happen without him.”
Brian Grimes, vice chair of the board of the Eye Health Institute has been on three trips as a volunteer and said that Cross is “very selfless. His whole mission is to provide quality eye care for the underserved and underprivileged people of Jamaica. He really makes a commitment and sees it through. For him it’s not just one trip to help people, and then you’re done. It’s an ongoing thing.”
Cross estimated they performed over 4000 eye exams over the years, all at no charge to the patients. One of the group’s proudest accomplishments is that in 2006, the Ministry of Health in Jamaica offered the Eye Health Institute a space to use as a permanent clinic.
One of Cross’s goals is to have an RV in Jamaica that can act as a mobile clinic, enabling the teams to get further into the mountain communities and fishing villages where there is very little access to medical care.
The impact on those they
serve cannot be overestimated according to Paul Hester, a volunteer and board
member. “When we see a patient and then you see that they can see again, they
can see to work, they can see their family, they can see to read the Bible or
thread a needle, it’s really special. It’s a special thing he has started. He’s
really changing their lives.”
Changing lives is what it’s all about for Cross. “You can definitely see the results of giving your time to help people.” He recalled one case where a teacher thought a young boy was developmentally delayed, and the boy was being teased or ignored by his classmates.
Instead, the boy was extremely nearsighted. Once he was fitted with glasses that had been donated, his whole world changed. “You think you’re giving a little bit of your time and it might change someone’s life. But what really happens is that you change yourself. You feel so good about what you’re doing and it changes you,” Cross said.
Reggae on the Creek is the major fundraiser for the Eye Health Institute. This year it will be held on Sept. 22.
In addition to financial contributions, the organization welcomes used eyeglasses, which are matched to patients in Jamaica with similar prescriptions. Sunglasses and non-prescription reading glasses can also be donated at the concert or at Dr. Cross’s office at Boulder Vision Associates in Gunbarrel.
For
more information see www.eyehealthinstitute.org.
Niwot Nostalgia Day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6. Organized by the Niwot Community Association, Nostalgia Day aims, “to promote a sense of community in Niwot and celebrate the many community organizations that make Niwot a great place to live.”
This year’s Nostalgia Day will have its traditional events, starting with a pancake breakfast in the parking lot of Cottonwood Square, followed by the parade down Second Avenue. Throughout the day, visitors can visit the many shops and restaurants that will be open, as well as various vendor and food booths that will line Second Avenue.
The Grange will host the annual quilt show, and kids can enjoy rides, games and magic shows throughout the day.
As for musical entertainment, the Niwot Timberline Symphony will perform at noon, and the Nacho Men will close out the evening with a concert in Cottonwood Square.
For the second year, the Left Hand Valley Courier is sponsoring the “Five Buck Duck Race.” Proceeds from the sale of ducks will be donated to fund the tree carvings on Niwot Road.
For
more information on Nostalgia Days, contact Neal Anderson at nanderson82@comcast.net.
Liz
Emmett-Mattox
With the parade on the Fourth of July and the Niwot Criterium on Sunday, July 6, there’s a lot to see and do
over the holiday weekend in downtown Niwot.
The Niwot Criterium has been held five
times, and this will be the second year in a row that GS Boulder Cycling club
has sponsored the race.
A criterium is a race that features
multiple laps of a fairly short course, making it a spectator-friendly event.
In this case, the riders will ride a one-mile loop in a figure-eight course
along Second Avenue, Franklin Street, Niwot Road and Murray Street.
The day starts at 7 a.m. with a full schedule of free junior races
for riders under 18, separated into two-year age categories. Throughout the
day, the action continues in races on the downtown streets. The highlights will
be the women’s professional race at 3:30 p.m. and the men’s professional race
at 4:45 p.m.
The youngest riders can get in on the action during the lunch
break (some time between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.) in the Main Street Dash. Niwot
Cycles is a sponsor of the race, and owner Dawn Buckingham is organizing this
race for the second year.
Last year there were over 70 Main Street Dash riders on everything
from big wheels to mountain bikes. There were so many that Buckingham separated
them into two waves based on age.
Buckingham said, “This is a great kid’s race where everyone wins.
It’s an opportunity for kids at whatever level to get on their bikes and have
people cheer them on as they ride down main street.”
Alan Enos, member of GS Boulder cycling
club and one of the organizers of the Niwot Criterium,
said that Niwot makes for a great race site for lots of reasons. “It’s really
great to have a downtown location where people can sit outside and watch the
race. It’s really spectator friendly. Because of the layout of the streets, it
makes for a very interesting course. There are two really sharp turns and that
will make the races really dynamic. You’ll see lots more team tactics and more
breakaways. It’s just a very interesting course for the riders and the
spectators.”
Buckingham agreed that Niwot is a great place for a bike race.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring a lot of people to Niwot and to showcase all
that Niwot has to offer in terms of shops and restaurants.”
In addition to giving others a chance to see Niwot, these races
will give locals a chance to see some world-class cyclists. Although it’s too
soon to say for sure who will be there, spectators can expect to see some of
the up-and-coming cyclists in the area.
According to Enos, “Several former
competitors in our Niwot Criterium have gone on to
ride in the Tour de France.”
Several local restaurants and businesses have signed on as
sponsors and will be open for business during the race for shopping or dining.
Children ages 7 and under
who wish to ride in the Main Street Dash should register at Niwot Cycles before
the day of the race. For more information on the other races or to register, go
to www.gsboulder.com and look for the page on the Niwot Criterium.
Commissioners Limit House
Sizes
By
Mandy Walker
Property owners in unincorporated Boulder County who want to build
a house larger than 6,000 square feet will now need to buy “development
credits” under new regulations that take effect Aug. 8.
The 6,000 square foot threshold includes all basement, garage,
storage and living areas, but excludes covered porches. Earlier versions had
proposed varying size thresholds depending on geographic locations. There were
also discussions of excluding subterranean basement areas and giving an
allowance for garage and storage space. Ultimately, the commissioners agreed
with staff that such proposals made the plan more complex.
“It’s important to make it as simple as we can while still
achieving the intended goals,” said Will Toor,
Boulder County Commissioner. Fellow commissioner Ben Pearlman agreed, adding
that the simple threshold gives landowners the choice of how to divide the
space to suit their needs.
Owners looking to build above the threshold would need to buy
development credits according to a graduated scale ranging from one credit for
the first 500 square feet and nine credits for an additional 2,500 square feet.
Owners of existing homes that exceed the threshold would be impacted by the
regulations only if they wanted to add additional floor area.
Owners of vacant building lots may forgo their building rights for
development credits. Similarly, owners of houses of less than 2,000 square feet
can agree to restrict the size of their house in exchange for development
credits. These are the credits that would be available for property owners to
buy.
The program also adds definitions of “neighborhood” and “size
compatibility” to the site plan review process, aiming to remove some of the
uncertainty inherent in the current process.
A property’s neighborhood will now be considered to be the area
within 1500 feet of the proposed property, the subdivision or the townsite. Townsite refers to Allenspark, Eldora, Eldorado Springs, Gold Hill, Raymond or
Riverside.
Size compatibility will now be considered as up to 125 percent of
1,500 square feet within the townsites and 2,500
square feet elsewhere in the unincorporated county.
“The changes to the site plan review process may be the element
that has the biggest impact,” said Toor.
The county has also launched a “Townsite Planning Initiative” through which the townsite communities will develop regulations covering the development and preservation
of their specific communities. That process may result in townsites setting their own size presumption, which would replace the 1,500 square foot
threshold.
The regulations are the culmination of a process that began in
May, 2005, one that has included many hours of public testimony, which the
commissioners recognized as helping to improve the quality of the program.
“It is a much better plan than it was before,” said Pearlman,
adding that this was really a starting point. The commissioners have pledged to
reevaluate the program within its first year of operation and to make
modifications where warranted.
By Bruce Warren
Billed as “The Greatest Show on Dirt” according to the t-shirts
for sale nearly everywhere, the College World Series is college baseball’s
showcase event. This year the Stanford
Cardinal, picked to finish in the middle of the Pac-10 in preseason polls, and
coming off a .500 season in 2007, defied the prognosticators and earned a trip
to Omaha as one of eight teams in the country to compete for the title.
A big part of Stanford’s success can be credited to former Niwot
High student-athlete Sean Ratliff. Although Ratliff, a lefthanded pitcher-outfielder, led Niwot to consecutive state 4A baseball titles in 2004
and 2005, he was not drafted in the major league amateur draft coming out of
high school. Though scouts tend to discount offensive numbers produced by
Colorado high school players, Ratliff was not drafted simply because he made it
clear he planned to pursue his education at Stanford, and play baseball for the
Cardinal.
“It’s the reason I went to Stanford – to come
to Omaha,” Ratliff remarked. The Cardinal made five straight CWS appearances
from 1999-2003, but had not been back since.
Ratliff played sparingly as a freshman, then blossomed as a sophomore, hitting .339 with 12 homeruns and 45 RBI’s, earning
All-Pac 10 honors. This year, he
supplied the power for the Stanford offense, hitting 22 homeruns, several of
the tape-measure variety, and driving in 71 runs while playing a solid
centerfield.
Ratliff is on the way toward reaching another
of his goals, to play in the major leagues. Niwot High has produced several professional players over the years,
including Virgil Chevalier, who reached the triple A level, Mike Hoog, the current Skyline head coach,
Mike Moat, who retired after the 2006 season, Pat Perry, who is currently
playing independent league baseball, and Matt Brown and Mike Olsen, who began
independent league play this summer. Hoog, Moat and Perry were drafted, as was Matt Barker,
whose career was cut short by injuries. Perry was the highest draft pick out of Niwot, going in the seventh
round to the Red Sox, until Ratliff was drafted in the fourth round by the New
York Mets in the June draft.
College players in Division I can only be drafted after their
junior or senior years of eligibility, so this year is the first time Ratliff
has been eligible since graduating from high school. Players cannot sign until their college
seasons end, and at press time Ratliff had not yet signed with the Mets.
Stanford lost the first game of the Regionals,
4-2 to UC Davis. After that the Cardinal
posted a perfect record to advance to the Super Regionals,
where Stanford beat perennial powerhouse Cal-State Fullerton two straight to
advance to Omaha. Ratliff doubled home
Stanford’s second run against UC-Davis, but a 4-run rally in the seventh by the
opponents sent Stanford down to defeat. In the next game, Ratliff had two hits and drove in the final run for
the Cardinal in a 5-1 win over Arkansas. Stanford avenged its earlier loss to
UC-Davis with an 8-5 win, scoring five times in the top of the ninth. Ratliff
reached base once on a walk. Later that
day Stanford routed Pepperdine 13-1, with Ratliff contributing two hits, a run
and an RBI.
That forced a deciding game the next day against Pepperdine for the
chance to advance to the sweet sixteen. Ratliff rose to the occasion, blasting
a solo homerun in the fourth and a grand slam homerun in the fifth, giving the
Cardinal the margin of victory in a 9-7 win. In the first Super Regional against Cal-State Fullerton, Ratliff again
provided the margin of victory, hitting a solo homerun in the sixth to give
Stanford a 4-1 lead. The next day saw
the Cardinal beat Cal-State Fullerton again, 8-5, to earn a trip to Omaha.
Ratliff’s twin sisters, Abby and Katie Ratliff, are sophomores at
CSU, and got summer jobs at the Flower Bin in Longmont. Both are English majors, and both played
softball for Niwot High. They also know
baseball, and they expected to be going to the College World Series. “We asked for time off these two weeks before
we even started work,” Abby said. Asked if their brother was more difficult to
live with lately, Katie smiled and said, “No, he’s always handled this stuff
pretty well.”
The sisters drove to Omaha with their father, Mike Ratliff, with a
stop in Ogallala, Neb., to stay with Mike’s parents. Ratliff’s mother, Kelly Ratliff, flew in from
Texas where she had traveled for work. Kelly is from Alliance, Neb., and the family was able to stay with
friends in Omaha. Ratliff has a large
extended family for support. “We bought
a big screen TV for my 91-year old mother so she could watch in the nursing
home in Alliance,” Kelly said.
The College World Series atmosphere is festive to say the least,
and the city gives CWS players and fans the “red-carpet” treatment. Soldiers from Offut Air Force Base met the players at the airport and carried their bags to the
waiting bus.
Stanford got off to an exciting start, beating Florida State 16-5
in the first game, thanks to an 11-run ninth inning rally that answered a 3-run
FSU rally in the eighth that produced a 5-5 tie. The 11 runs set a new CWS
record for most runs in the ninth inning. Ratliff had two hits and three RBI’s,
driving in the second and third runs of the ninth-inning rally with a bases-loaded
single. FSU had walked the previous
batter intentionally to get to Ratliff. The Cardinal’s luck turned in the next game, a 4-3 loss to Georgia. Ratliff reached once on a walk.
The next game pitted Stanford against number one seeded Miami,
ranked first in the nation for most of the season, in an elimination game. The crowd definitely favored Stanford, which
had an Omaha player on the roster. And
as Mike Ratliff said, “All of the Nebraska fans hate Miami, so Miami is always
the visitor here.”
Ratliff took batting practice with the team, and after warming up,
hit several tape-measure shots into the seats in right-centerfield. In a portent of things to come, the Stanford
players shagging fly balls stopped looking up as Ratliff’s shots carried over their
heads.
Miami scored a run in the fist inning, and Stanford left two
runners on base in the bottom of the first. Ratliff led off the second inning and grounded out to second base. Stanford tied the game in the third inning.
Ratliff fouled a ball off his leg before drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch to load
the bases with two out, but was left stranded. Although the trainer went out to
check him for an injury, Ratliff’s sisters weren’t worried. Stanford took a 2-1 lead in the fourth before
breaking the game open in the fifth.
Ratliff stands straight up at the plate with his hands in front
of his letters, a stance he describes as “a little weird.” But once the pitch
is thrown, he goes into the launching position quickly. Since high school at Niwot he has spread out
a little bit, and this season has been working on landing softly on his front
foot to be able to stay back on the ball. “My walks are up this year,” he said. He also uses a slightly bigger bat, 34 inches and 31 ounces.
He came to the plate in the fifth with one
on and one out and hit the second pitch directly over the 375 foot sign to give
Stanford the ultimate margin of victory. The blog on the Stanford website described it this way: “Another amazing
sequence in the game was to watch Sean Ratliff’s home run in the fifth inning.
He said that Hurricane starter Enrique Garcia hung a splitter over the plate
and he was able to get good wood on it. We would like to thank Ratliff for
being humble, but that ball drew many reactions in the press box and it
was said by more than one person that it was one of the longest in quite awhile
at Rosenblatt Stadium. Ratliff crushed the offering over the right-center field
seats and all the way to the front of the upper section in the bleachers. It
was eerily reminiscent of his home run in the first game of the
Fullerton series, where the ESPN cameras gave up on the ball as it disappeared
into the vegetation behind the Fullerton center field wall. This time Miami
centerfielder Ryan Tekotte took two steps towards the
wall and immediately surrendered, as the ball sailed over the wall. It was a
remarkable home run, but something that Ratliff has treated the Stanford fans
to on more than a couple occasions now.”
Ratliff walked in the sixth but was stranded and grounded to short
to end the eighth inning. The cheer from the crowd when Miami was eliminated
was noticeable as Husker fans joined Stanford fans in sending Miami home.
After the game, Ratliff said, “I’m just having a lot of fun. This is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s been a huge blessing to be able to come
here and realize one of my dreams.” In a post-game interview on ESPN, Ratliff
described the pitch he hit for a homerun. “He hung a splitter over the plate. He had been working me away and he tried to get me to chase away on the
first pitch. I saw it well, I saw it early and put a good swing on it.”
The rematch with Georgia finally ended
Stanford’s run. A furious rally in the
ninth came up short as the Cardinal fell to Georgia, 10-8. Ratliff went 1-3 in
the final game, getting a single in the middle of the 4-run ninth-inning rally,
and scoring on a pinch-hit homerun by Ben Clowe. Ratliff’s season ended with a .294 batting
average, 22 homeruns, three short of the Stanford record, and 71 RBI’s in 67
games. He also had 52 runs scored and 13
doubles and 4 triples. His .645 slugging
percentage led the team. He also stole
eight bases in 11 attempts, second on the team. Ratliff led the Cardinal in homeruns and was second in RBI’s.
By Bruce Warren
I was lucky enough to get press credentials
to attend the Stanford-Miami game at the College World Series in Omaha June 18
to cover Niwot High grad Sean Ratliff, Stanford’s slugging centerfielder. For a writer used to covering high school
playoff games, the experience was almost like a fantasy camp for
sportswriters. I learned a lot, mostly thanks
to two LSU students who write for the campus paper, who took me under their
wing. They wondered if the Courier was a
newspaper for left-handers. Of course I said, “No.” Then I explained that we
changed our name in honor of Sean Ratliff, because he’s left-handed. Some of
the things I learned:
Niwot is everywhere when it comes to
baseball. Walking around before the Stanford-Miami College World Series game, Fanfest was underway, with hitting and throwing contests
for fans, all free. Rawlings had a
display of Gold Gloves, including a plaque listing all of the NCAA 2007 Gold Glove
winners. The first name that caught my
eye was “Joe Roth, 2nd Base, Emory University.” Roth is another Niwot area player who earned
the Gold Glove award in Division III after a stellar high school career at Holy
Family.
When
you have your picture taken for the press photo ID, it’s best not to remove your hat if you have no hair under it, especially when the
only lighting is a recessed ceiling lamp spotlight.
Watching a game from the press box is a
surreal experience. Big screen high
definition TV’s show the ESPN broadcast, which seems to have about a 4-second
delay, which gives the press “instant” instant replay on almost every
play. A voice booms out the scoring on
every tough play, “error” or “base-hit.” (Half of the time they’re wrong.) And there’s no cheering in the press
box. A too-loud “Yeah” after a called
strike on a Miami batter too eager to take a walk was followed by dead silence
in the rest of the room, where even talking is discouraged.
CWS
games are just a small step down from major league quality on the field and in
the details. Seven of Miami’s 10 players
in the lineup had just been drafted by major league teams. The other three were too young. After the
fourth inning the grounds crew doesn’t replace the bases, but the bases are
wiped down with a towel. The umpire
doesn’t routinely discard balls thrown in the dirt, but recycles them after
wiping them off.
Wearing
Crocs makes it easier to explain to anyone where you’re from. Wearing a green shirt with a press credential
hanging from a lanyard around your neck makes people think you’re part of the
stadium staff. When the apparently
bigger brother of Refrigerator Perry approached me at the field entrance
carrying a mound of fries in one hand and two burgers in the other, and asked
if I was going to make him show me his ticket, I simply said, “Go on in.”
Former Dodger pitcher and ESPN broadcaster
Oral Hershiser is part of the press too, which means he can come over and sit
down at the next table over to eat the free food. It’s not okay to ask for his autograph there.
But it is okay to interview him there. ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews
looks as good in person as she does on TV.
Even
reporters from small town monthly newspapers can ask questions at the post-game
press conference, just like the writers from Baseball America, Sports
Illustrated, and the Associated Press. It’s best to forget about asking Sean
Ratliff all of the questions you had prepared about what was different from
high school baseball in Niwot and ask a question somebody else might be
interested in, like, “Can you tell me about the pitch you hit for a homerun?” He saw the question coming as well as he saw
the ball he crushed deep into the right-centerfield stands.
Class
of 2008
Erno Berdy - Wayne State
Madison Berman - CU-Denver