Porter to make presentation to ANOCA

ISF President Don Porter will be making a presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) General Assembly as Porter looks to garner support for softball's reinstatement in the 2016 Olympic Games. Making the presentation with Porter is Botswana Softball Association President Marumo Morule and South African softball coach Lynn Alexander.
“I am delighted to be back in Africa again this week to discuss with members of ANOCA why softball should get their backing in the lead-up to the IOC vote later this year. We have invested heavily in projects around Africa, providing real hope and opportunity to young people. We are committed to making softball a significant sport in Africa as evidenced by our Jr. Women’s World Championship being set for 2011 in Cape Town (South Africa)," stated Don Porter in a recent press release.

The IOC will be making a final vote on softball and other sports including roller sports, karate, rugby, baseball, squash, and golf in Copenhagen this upcoming October.

Noelle Quinn's Buzzer Beater

This is probably one of the best buzzer beater's I've seen so far this season.

Sky Blue over Breakers 1-0

I attended Sky Blue's game against the Boston Breakers on Saturday the Fourth of July. It was an exciting game. Both teams played well, but just missed a lot of scoring opportunitues. Heather O' Reilly scored early in the game in the 6th minute on a corner kick that curved passed Breakers goalkeeper Alli Lipsher. The goal looked good to me, but there was some confusion after the game whether the ball had gone in or not. Breakers defender Heather Mitts was positive it didn't cross the goal line, but Angela Hucles wasn't as sure. I'm still waiting for Sky Blue to post the replay of the game on their website. Both goalkeepers played phenomenal as there were a bunch of great saves. Boston will be hosting Sky Blue next Sunday. So far Sky Blue is 2-0 against the Breakers.

Happy Independence Day!!!

Happy 4th of July. I'll be spending this beautiful day watching the Sky Blue FC host the Boston Breakers at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey. I'll add more about the game later today.

In other news, Candace Parker will be suiting up for the Los Angeles Sparks for the first time this season on Sunday when the Sparks host the Phoenix Mercury at 9:30 pm.

The Indiana Fever won seven-straight games after dismantling the Connecticut Sun on Thursday. Indiana has now won seven-straight games and stands in first place in the eastern conference.

The Atlanta Dream waived veteran Nikki Teasley and signed Ivory Latta.

Have a great 4th of July!!!

Quickie Podcast III

Here's a quick podcast that I've been meaning to do since last week, but got totally sidetracked. I had some serious issues to discuss like the terrible play of the New York Liberty. On a positive note, how about the Minnesota Lynx?! Not bad for a team that lost their leading scorer.

Softball looking for Mediterranean Games inclusion

ISF President Don Porter announced that he is looking to include women's and men's fastpitch softball in the Mediterranean Games for 2013. With softball already entrenched in Mediterranean countries such as Croatia, Greece, Turkey, France, and Spain, Mr. Porter will be holding discussions with the Games Committee in order to expand softball's global appeal.

“We’re watching the Pescara Mediterranean Games with interest and I believe that softball would be a great fit when the XVII Games takes place in Greece in four years. Softball is becoming tremendously popular across the world, including Middle Eastern countries where team sports are not particularly encouraged, especially among women. We also have an exemplary record of no positive drugs tests at the elite level, a record we are especially proud of,” stated Mr. Porter.

Also, check out the ISF Update for June 30th.

Wisconsin Warriors look to make headway in women's tackle football

Football in the summer time? No, it’s not Arena Football, or even a reemergence of the defunct-XFL. It’s women’s professional football, and they do not play with flags either. The Independent Women’s Football League is the premiere women’s professional tackle football league in the United States with currently more than 40 teams. The IWFL is divided into two tiers. Tier I consists of teams from larger cities with bigger rosters. Tier II teams are teams like the Wisconsin Warriors who have small rosters - even as small as 21 players. It’s not uncommon for these women to have multiple positions, playing on both offense and defense, and even special teams. (read more...)

St. Louis will host first WPS All-Star Game

WPS announced that its inaugural 2009 All-Star Game will be played at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri on August 30. That's 8 days after the WPS championship game is played. The All-Star team will be chosen by the end of July. Eleven players will be voted on by fans (25%), media (25%), coaches (25%), and players (25%). Seven players will be selected by the WPS Commissioner and the All-Star Team head coach. In an interesting twist, the All-Star Team head coach will be selected by the players.

KFC World Cup schedule

Not exactly Olympic softball related, but still important. ESPN will televise 14 hours of the KFC World Cup of Softballp which is being held from July 16-20 in Oklahoma City. The coverage includes six USA women's nation team games and also a men's slow pitch game featuring the United States and Canada. The schedule is below:

Thursday, July 16 - USA vs. Netherlands 7 p.m. ESPN
Friday, July 17 - USA vs. Italy 7 p.m. ESPN
Saturday, July 18 - USA vs. Canada – Noon ESPN
Saturday, July 18 – Border Battle - USA vs. Canada Men's Slow Pitch 3 p.m. ESPN
Saturday, July 18 – USA vs. Japan 7 p.m. ESPN
Sunday, July 19 - USA vs. Australia Noon ESPN
Monday, July 20 - Championship Game, #1 seed vs. #2 seed; 8 p.m. ESPN2

Also check out the June 22 ISF Update. It pretty much rehashes what I blogged about last week, the coverage of the KFC Cup, and the ISF Executive Council meeting that is taking place this upcoming Friday.

You Make Me So Angry!!

Phoenix Mercury head coach Corey Gaines did what most sports fans can only dream of: chewing out an official. That's before getting ejected from the game. Of course, he eventually will be allowed back on the sidelines while most fans would lose access to the arena for a year or so. Gaines argued with an official during the Mercury's first home loss of the season against the Seattle Storm. Diana Taurasi was allegedly fouled during a shot attempt late in the fourth quarter with the Mercury down by three to Seattle. No foul was called. With 14 seconds left, Taurasi was called for an iffy-looking offensive foul. Between those bad calls, Seattle opened up an eight-point lead with Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird hitting back-to-back three-pointers plus the addition of a few free made throws by Bird. Instead of chewing out his players for their lack of perimeter defense, Gaines chose to go after the referee instead. And he seemed so mild-mannered. Well, we can't expect much from the officiating which can be absolutely horrendous at times. While the player talent is getting better on the court, the officiating seems to be lagging behind.