Quick, name a few professional umpires, referees or officials.
Whose name did you spurt out? My bet would be someone who’s either controversial (like former NBA ref Joe Crawford), memorable for non-sports reasons (is it the high-definition TV, or do Ed Hochuli’s biceps look extra swollen?) or possibly someone who messed up at the worst time (sorry for bringing up Jim Joyce, Detroit Tigers fans).
For Little League all-stars on an Elk-McKean County team on Monday, players on the combined team hailing from Johnsonburg, Fox Township and Kane may just remember who was determining out and safe calls on the base paths more than what turned out to be a four-inning loss.
Joe Beimel, the recently retired left-handed relief pitcher from Kersey, was on the diamond as an umpire. On June 25 as a member of the New Britain (Conn.) Bees in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, Beimel officially called it a career after appearing for seven big league teams.
A 26-round selection in the MLB Draft in 1996 by the Texas Rangers, Beimel could have been seen as the answer to an area trivia question in the mid-2000s – “Where’s that pitcher from Kersey these days?”
That changed as he stuck in the majors, pitching in two stints for the Pirates and twice appearing in postseason, including in 2008 when his Los Angeles Dodgers played in the National League Championship Series. He finished his MLB career with a 29-34 record and 4.06 ERA in 676 appearances.
Beimel’s cousins, Jesse and John, were two of the coaches for the Elk-McKean team, who helped set up the occasion.
Summer hoops
Basketball fans have no shortage of hoops on TV this summer. Between Ice Cube’s Big3 3-on-3 tournament featuring former pro players, NBA Summer League action and players you’ve never heard of getting multi millions in NBA free agency, it’s like the NBA season never stopped.
Today also marks the start of the fourth The Basketball Tournament, where teams across the nation compete in a bracket tournament for the shot at $2 million in prize money. One of the most-recognizable teams in the TBT is Boeheim’s Army, a squad made up of Syracuse Orange alumni like Donte Green, C.J. Fair and Eric Devendorf, who was last seen jumping on the Madison Square Garden scorer’s table during the six-overtime Big East tournament thriller against UConn in 2009.
Their game today in the single-elimination setup is against the DuBois Dream.
Yes, players based out of DuBois will be playing against former Big East stars and overseas professional players. A 14th seed underdog, the Dream will feature former District 9 players Albert Varacallo (DuBois Central Catholic), Nick Anderson (Brockway) and Sam Roselli (Ridgway).
The team, created by Varacallo, is playing in honor of Varacallo’s father.
The game tips from Philadelphia at 6 p.m. and can be seen on the WatchESPN app.
Other teams of interest include the Oakland Zoo (Pitt alumni), reigning champs Overseas Elite (featuring former Pittsburgh area high school hoopers D.J. Kennedy and DeJuan Blair) and none other than the Washington Generals.
The Generals’ synopsis on the TBT website goes like this: “Although they have lost well over 17,000 games to the Globetrotters, they are 0-0 in TBT 2017. If they can pull off the victory, the Generals plan to celebrate with champagne on ice.”
Have you watched the news lately? Anything can happen these days.
Perhaps even the Washington Generals can win a basketball game.
Volunteering
On Wednesday, I grabbed my camera as my brother and I walked a few blocks over to check out what was described as a tractor-trailer into a structure along Fraley St. just coming up the hill into Kane’s business district.
We saw the truck in the yard on the corner of Pine Ave. and Fraley after it hit corner house. First responders were already on the scene.
When we moved across the street to look from a different angle, I realized two members of the Kane Volunteer Fire Department were June graduates of Kane High –– and all-star athletes, no less.
Toby Fox, headed to the Navy, was a two-way lineman for the Wolves’ District 9 title team and made both the Big 30 and Allegheny Mountain League all-star teams. Bryce Shreckengost, also a fireman, led the Wolves’ soccer team in goals and was selected to the Upper Allegheny Valley Soccer League all-star team.
Dead-eye shooter
If a basketball player makes a tough, contested shot while being tightly defended, one might say the shot was made “in your eye.” Those in the St. Marys area with something actually in their eye can look no further than to one of the area’s best sharp-shooters for optical care.
Brandon Housler, a 1999 graduate of Cameron County, opened Housler Family Eye Care in St. Marys along the Million Dollar Highway in June, according to a June 16 edition of the St. Marys Daily Press. His name seemed familiar and then I recalled he scored a boat-load of points for the Red Raiders.
Sure enough, with a bit of research on D9Sports.com, Housler is the third all-time leading scorer in District 9 with 2,084 career points. That puts Housler – who played collegiately at Pitt-Bradford while earning a biology degree – a single point ahead of 2007 Elk Catholic graduate Jesse Bosnik.
Bringing it full circle
I like when things can come full circle and wrap up nicely. How does this apply here, you ask?
Bosnik, from the last section, was in the Dodgers’ farm system while Beimel was pitching out of the LA bullpen. He also played AAU ball in high school with Kennedy and Blair, who both went on to play basketball in the Big East against Boeheim’s Orange.
Hot dog!
Did you watch the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on the Fourth of July? Joey Chestnut devoured 72 HDBs (that’s hot dogs AND buns, for those of you not familiar with the lingo) to win his 10th championship. I bet you didn’t know a share of Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (NATH) will only cost a slight bite out of your wallet at $64 on the NASDAQ market as of Friday afternoon.
