Miners eXperience helps Keystones in Safford Tournament

The Miners eXperience in the Safford Tournament was the high point for the Keystones organization. The Miners in their league debut went 2-2 in the tournament thanks to fairly decent play by their double duty player, Doug Sabeh. Mr. Sabeh helped the Miners pull off a perfect offensive game in one of the first three games played by the Miners. The Miners had some help from other players and league officials on rulings in their first set of games in The Central Arizona Stickball League. They also got pretty good fielding from players like Mark and Jason Smith who have won several gold gloves in their time in the league. The biggest surprise for the Miners was Mr. Sabeh's performance in the field. Although he still had some trouble judging a few fly balls, Mr. Sabeh tripled his career totals in the field with 6 Ground Outs and 3 Fly Outs. The most memorable catch was on a foul ball hit by Mark Smith that Mr. Sabeh had to run several yards to make a remarkable running catch. Of course, as Mark Smith remarked, "Doug misses an easy fly ball in the infield by someone else and makes that great running catch on a ball I hit, it was unbelivable." As Jason Smith once said about Doug Sabeh, "If crazy is going to happen, he will make it happen." That craziness was definitely part of the Miner's eXperience in the Safford Tournament.

The Miners 2-2 record definitely helped out the Keystones organization which had a different eXperience in the Safford Tournament. The Keystones ended up with a record of 1-3 when all was said and done with their games at the Safford Tournament. If it werent for the Miners winning their two games the Keystones record would be 1-7 instead of what it presently is at 3-5. They Keystones Management was very pleased with the Miners perfromance in the Tournament, especially with them havin played a game where it was Doug Sabeh, Kimball Smith and Robin Smith verses Jason Smith and Mark Smith and possibly one other player. Doug Sabeh was quoted as saying, "The Miners have a great tradition of working well together as a team and overcoming adversity. It was an honor just to step out on the field and represent their team." The Miner's Team president had this to say regarding his teams performance in the Safford Tournament. "Our team came out to the Arizona Desert and turned some heads in the Central Arizona Stickball League. Mr. Sabeh was a work horse for both our team and his Keystones playing 8 games in just a little over a two day period. His fielding for us was very good, and it seemed to improve the more he played. We are very pleased to be affiliated with his Keystones in the Central Arizona Stickball League." The Keystones management had this to say regarding the help the Miners contributed to their organization. "Our country has always relied on the hard work ethic of 'Miners' throughout America. It is only fitting that the Miners help out those of us Keystones that are part of the Central Arizona Stickball League. Both teams made our organization proud in the Tournament. We hope that their will be future opportunities for both teams to compete in the Safford area for years to come." All in all the eXperience in the Safford tournament was one that both the Keystones and Miners will never forget.

The BUSH LEAGUE eXperience: Are You Ready?

>* Note: To "experience" the full effect of this article please read in the voice style of William Shatner, Brent Musburger or Jack Black.

Experience . . . the tradition . . . the paegentry . . . the passion . . . the glory . . . the legacy . . . the pomp and all the circumstances . . . and of course the hype (oooooohhh, the HYPE) that is Bush League Stickball!

In a matter of mere days (even hours depending on when you read this) Bush Leaguers from around the world (or at least the nation) will make the pilgrimage back to the Gila Valley and participate for the first time ever in what is being called "the Bush League eXperience".

The eXperience will consist of three major events: the Inaugural Bush League All-Star Game, the Minor League Championship and the Olympic Stickball Trials. In addition to these three major events the League as has also planned a Rookies Tee Ball Game featuring the kids (and moms if they are up to it) versus the Grandpas/Dads/Uncles with the kids making up all the rules. There will also be a Pre All-Star Game Basketball Shoot Around at the Stake Center so bring your sneakers and your short shorts, and be ready to show off your skills in various competitions such as Around the World, Speed and a Half Court Shooting Contest. Also on the docket is a Blast Off-Style Home Run Derby.

The culmination of the All-Star eXperience will be the suspenseful, emotionally gripping and dramatic, Sandlot Illustrated pre-game introduction of the players and the announcement of which past seasons they garned All-Star Honors.

The Minor Championship will feature seven brand new Minor League teams including the West Virginia Miners, the Tucson Thunder Bolts, the Lordsburg Stick Lords, the Moonlight Grahams, the North Salt Lake Fighting Pumbas, the Texas Chain Saws and the Dominican Tigres. It is anticipated that the Central Sand Tigers will dust off the spikes and return to the sandlot to round out the field of eight. The Minor League Championship is designed to get everyone out of the Minors (75 ABs) or at least close to it, and that is why it is being played now while everyone is still in the Minors (ahh, that makes sense).

The Olympic Stickball Trials will determine which teams earn the right to represent their country and advance to the Olympic Games in Bejing, China later on this Summer (but not really). Unofficially, it is projected that Robin will represent either Peru or Ecuador; Mark, Guatemala; Jason, Laos or Thailand; Clifton, Venezuela; Craig, la Republica Dominicana; Doug, Lebanon; Brandon, the Cajun country of Louisiana and Kimball, the one-time nation of Texas. National pride and love for country and sure to be on display at this unique cultural sporting event. The Bush League is prepared to receive all defectors who request political asylum and wish to stay in this country to play in the league.

For fans wishing to mingle with the rich and famous at this permiere eXperience the Bush League has prematurely announced celebrities who are probably not coming but have been invited (they just haven't RSVPed yet). They include Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Muhammad Ali, the Phoenix Suns Gorilla, Oprah, Sylvester Stallone, Boots from Dora the Explorer, Neil Diamond, Barry Bonds, Bruce Springsteen, Jim Rome, Yao Ming, Rush Limbaugh, 3 living descendents of the real Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, Miley Cyrus and her father, Billy Ray, Carrot Top, Ralph Macchio, Bob Barker, vice-presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney (because his name is Mitt), the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the president himself, Mr. George W. Bush because he can't be president much longer and he wants to be your next "High Commissioner of Stickball". Can you say "wow"? WOW!

Read this now and believe it later, if you come you will see stuff you have never seen before and a lot of stuff you have, but the Bush League eXperience will forever change your life. You just gotta believe!

And by the way, each Bush Leaguer will receive the latest greatest edition of Sandlot Illustrated, a free, cheaply made, hand-crafted, athletic-cut T-shirt with the Bush League logo emblazoned on the front and pair of socks (your choice of color: white or black and style: mid-calf or bobbie).

And finally, from the Redundant Department of Redundancy, The Bush League eXperience: eXperience the Bush League!

Miners to Make League Debut End of May or Early June

The West Virginia Miners have announced that they plan to be in town to be part of the opening festivities of the Summer Tournament held in Safford Arizona this year that runs from June 2-7, 2008. The Miners will be in the Safford Area from May 30,2008 through June 2, 2008. The Miners will have an addition to their line-up as Doug Sabeh will be in the Safford area for some other league business. Mr. Sabeh has been asked by the Keystones Management to assist the Miners with any and all league dealings while he is with them. This includes getting them acquainted with the members of the league, helping them with league policies, supplying them with any equipment that they may need, helping them with any roster needs, as well as various administrative and field management duties. Mr. Sabeh was not available for comment at this time, but a spokesperson from the West Virginia Miners said, "Mr. Sabeh is very honored to be working closely with our team. It is a great privilege to be given this opportunity for our organization to see the Central Arizona Stickball League up close and personal and put on an exhibition for their great fans. We would like to thank the Central Arizona Stickball League and their teams for allowing us to be a part of this special week." Members of both the West Virginia Miner's and Pittsburgh Keystones will be on site for the Safford Summer Tournament. Mr. Sabeh will be on hand to represent both teams if necessary. He already knows that if the Miners need him to play for them he will. He also knows that if the Keystones call on him, he will be their to represent his hometown team as well. This should prove to be an interesting time for both organizations. A spokesperson for the Keystones said, "We would like to thank the Central Arizona Stickball League for hosting this event and for allowing Mr. Sabeh to be able to continue his work for both the West Virginia Miners as well as our Pittsburgh Keystones. We would also like to wish all the teams in the league the best of luck in the Safford Summer Tournament." Whether people become Miners fans, Keystones fans, other Central Arizona Stickball League Team Fans, or just pure stickball fans, this tournament should be something special. We Look forward to seeing everyone on the field, "Rocking the Yard," or "Playing the Field," or "Swinging Hard, Just in Case You Hit It." Hopefully the West Virginia Miners can dig these sayings or maybe come up with a few of their own. The wait is almost over, the West Virginia Miners are going to make league history in late May or early June. See you then, "Almost Heaven, West Virginia (Miners)."

2008 Begins with a Blast

The stats are already beginning to roll in from around the Bush League, and it appears that this season will be the most competitive and intense in the history of Gila Valley stickball. Even the Utah Jacks managed to get a game in during the Mountain View Classic held on April 4th. This website has been upgraded to handle the incoming 2008 stats and Craig should be posting them shortly.

Make note on your calendars that tentative plans are in place to play a 2008 Summer Tourney from June 2-7 in Safford, Arizona. Mark, Doug, and Clifton will work to coordinate calendars and travel schedules to make this opportunity a reality. We hope that everything will work out such that we can get together and get each team the needed games to qualify for the playoffs.

Here's to an action-packed, over-hyped, and successful 2008 season!