Monthly Archives: February 2013

Remember Bill Carter and The Chymes of Freedom?

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If you’re my age you might.

The memory’s a bit fuzzy. I think it must have been the summer of 1967 because I didn’t move to Bremerton until the middle of my eighth grade year and that the late fall of ’66. But I remember trooping down to Roosevelt Field, the grand old baseball stadium that was knocked down and turned into the parking lot next to the Warren Avenue Bridge, with my buddies. The Chymes of Freedom were headlining a rock show at the old ball yard. At least, I think they were the headliners.

They reminded me of the Byrds, or perhaps the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan must have been an inspiration. His album, Chimes of Freedom, was originally recorded in 1964. Bremerton’s Chymes of Freedom were a really good band, and only around for a couple of years. They were comprised of CK grads Bill Carter and John Carter, West High’s Rick Belyea, George Goins, Scott McDonald and the late Earl Weida.

Why am I reminded of this band 45 years later?

Well, I was riding to a softball scrimmage at Western Washington over the weekend — I’m a volunteer coach at Olympic College these days and enjoying every minute of it — when our head coach, Danny Haas, informed me that Bill Carter had been on the Late Show with David Letterman last week (Feb. 21), and Johnny Depp was playing slide guitar. Bill Carter & The Blame’s the name of the band. Turns out Carter moved to Austin, Texas, in 1976 — the same year I was going to school at the University of Texas — and he’s become a Texas legend as a singer/song writer.

Carter and his wife, Ruth Ellsworth, are prolific writers and have written songs for several major artists. Among Carter’s songs: Steve Ray Vaughn’s “Crossfire.” He also wrote “Why Get Up?” for the Fabulous Thunderbirds and “The Richest Man,” which has been recorded by 40 artists. Carter and Ellsworth played with Depp’s band P in the 1990s. Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, actor Sal Jenco were also in the band. Others, like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, played from time to time.

The Blame played “Anything Made of Paper,” on the Letterman Show. It’s featured in the 2012 documentary film “West of Memphis,” which is about three teenagers who were unjustly charged with murder and spent 18 years in jail in Arkansas.

Sounds like Carter’s lived an interesting life. Check out his website.

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Sonicsgate producers speaking at KAR meeting at McClouds on Feb. 27

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Seattle’s Jason Reid and Adam Brown, producers of the award-winning documentary Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team will be the guest speakers at the Wednesday, Feb. 27 Kitsap Athletic Roundtable meeting at McClouds Grill House (2901 Perry Avenue, east Bremerton).

Sonicsgate, which won a 2010 Webby Award for Best Sports Film, chronicles the Seattle SuperSonics’ history and tells the story about the franchise’s controversial exit from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008. The two-hour film, which is available on the Internet, was updated and re-cut for television last year.

Reid and Brown spent a considerable amount of their own time, energy and money in keeping the Seattle region interested in getting another NBA team.

When news broke last month that Seattle native Chris Hansen had purchased a controlling interest of the Sacramento Kings, Reid said in an interview on KIRO-FM radio that it gave him “goose bumps.”

Reid was on a panel that discussed Hansen’s SoDo Arena plan on a weekly public affairs channel in Seattle. He also appeared recently on ESPN’s Between The Lines.

The goal with the Sonicsgate movement was to motivate a guy like Hansen to put money up and get an NBA team back in the Seattle market, said Reid.

“We wanted to put pressure on the NBA and let the rest of the nation know the team didn’t leave because of a lack of fan support,” Reid said.

Reid and Brown will also share their thoughts on the possibility of NBA basketball returning to KeyArena next season. The duo recently wrote a letter to Sacramento Kings fans that was posted at Grantland.com. It included this message:

We know the gamut of emotions losing your hometown team can inspire. To that point, our film ends with this poignant realization by author and Sonics fan Sherman Alexie:

“If we get a team, it’s going to be somebody else’s team … To get a team, I’m going to have to break the hearts of people just like me.”

The meeting starts with a 5:30 p.m. social hour with the dinner program to follow. Cost is $25 ($20 for members). Invite a friend. This should be a fun night. The KAR will raffle off some prizes and McClouds features some of the best food around.

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Season’s over, but Sherman’s mouth still going strong

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Name the Seattle Seahawks player who is in the news again?

Yep, Richard Sherman.

After two years in the NFL, the all-pro cornerback has already established himself as the best trash talker to put on a Seattle uniform since The Mouth himself, Gary Payton.

Sherman’s latest target is Darrelle Revis, the Jets’ Pro Bowl cornerback. They got into a pretty entertaining war of words on Twitter Wednesday.

Mouthy athletes aren’t appealing most of the time, but there seems to be a playful side to Sherman’s banter. He likes the attention, and the thing is, he’s been able to back up his talk thus far.

I can’t wait to hear what he has to say when his contract is up, or when he asks to re-do his contract. The dude’s gonna command a pretty hefty salary at some point, and I can’t imagine him putting on a muzzle during negotiations.

Here’s some of the Twitter madness that went down between Sherman and Revis, courtesy of ESPN 710 radio:

Sherman: “one season u will get 8 picks…. But it won’t happen anytime soon… I did it in my 2nd season… So u have something to chase”

Sherman: “Got off my flight to this hilarious convo. So I have 8 picks 3 ff and a sack. My season stats looking like Revis career stats”

Sherman: “For the QB not throwing his way argument. In his 2nd year they were throwing his way. I still doubled his picks”

Revis: “That’s like you saying your better then Deion Sanders & since he’s not playing no more he’s irrelevant for what he’s done.”

Revis: “child please, lol!!! Your still taking baby steps son. Don’t get to a head of yourself.”

Revis: “Hey everyone @rsherman_25 wants to be a lockdown corner. He wants to be in the talks of a lockdown corner. So follow him so he can become 1!”

Revis: “This dude just interrupted my NBA 2k game cause he has draSms to be a lockdown corner!!! HAHA #keepdreaming”

Sherman: “Remember that time the number of twitter followers mattered more than the production on the field? Me either”

Sherman: lmao he living off reputation right now… I’m living off performance. That’s why he’s mad…

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Update on Kitsapers in college: Williams, Flora, Baetz, Steiger, Roberts, Cray, Hewey, Bielec, Baker, Moskowitz and more

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Isaac Williams, a 1995 Central Kitsap grad, is the head coach of NAIA Division II Eastern Oregon’s No. 3-ranked men’s basketball team. The Mountaineers (27-3) were co-champs of the Cascade Collegiate Conference and open CCC tournament play on Wednesday. Look for my column on Williams, a third-year head coach, in Thursday’s editions. Cody Thurmond, a senior from Central Kitsap, started as a sophomore and junior for the Mountaineers but missed the first 10 games with a hand injury. By then, Eastern was 10-0 and nobody wanted to mess up the rotation. Thurmond’s splitting time at point guard and is coming off an 18-point game.

Seattle University guard Jarell Flora of Bremerton scored a career-high 18 points in a 65-63 loss to UT Arlington over the weekend. Flora made three straight threes and a dunk during an early 17-1 run in that game. The sophomore guard, who has started two games this month, made 7 of 9 shots in the game. He’s averaging 6.4 points in 23 games, averaging 17.3 minutes a contest. Flora’s making a team-high 35.9 percent of his 3-pointers.

Remember Sophia Baetz? Now a sophomore at Skagit Valley, she’s the 19th leading scorer in the NWAACC, averaging 14.5 points for the Cardinals, who visit Olympic College on Saturday for a 2 p.m. game. It’s the regular-season finale. Skagit’s tied for first with Bellevue in the NWAACC North and headed to the 16-team championship tournament. …. Shannon Jackson, a sophomore from Olympic HS, averages 7.84 rebounds for Umpqua (Ore.), which ranks 12th in the NWAACC. … Sadee Jones, a 5-8 sophomore guard from North Mason, averages 6.9 points and 6.6 rebounds for Evergreen Stat e(7-15). … Freshman Hannah Depew, a Bainbridge grad, averages 10 points and 3.5 rebounds for Columbia Basin. She had a season-high 18 points against Blue Mountain earlier this month and has averaged 13.4 points over her last five games. … Shoreline’s Maile Keanu (fr., South Kitsap), S. Puget Sound’s Renee Willey (so., North Mason) and Highline’s Terrick McGhee (so., Bremerton) are also playing in the NWAACC. … Kelsey Callaghan, a sophomore point guard from South Kitsap, averages 2.7 points in a backup role for NAIA Montana Western (13-15).

Four-year college baseball and softball teams have started their seasons. South Kitsap grad Brady Steiger, who started his career at Washington State before citing “burnout” as a reason for quitting the team, has regained his love of the game. After a successful year at Sierra Junior College in California, Steiger’s now a first baseman/third baseman at Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho. The 6-foot-1 junior, who played for the Cheney Studs in the summer, is hitting .556 (with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 6 RBIs and 4 walks) after collecting 10 hits in his first 18 at-bats. His dad Greg played baseball at Eastern Washington, which doesn’t have a program anymore. Grandpa Jack Brady played baseball at the University of Washington.

Seattle University’s Nate Roberts, a senior from Central Kitsap, and Landon Cray, freshman from Chimacum, have got their seasons off to a good start. Roberts started at shortstop all three games in a series at Santa Clara and collected six hits in 13 at bats (.462) with five runs scored and five RBI. Cray started in center field and was 6 for 10 (.600) with 7 runs scored. Seattle U (1-2) plays Portland at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue on Tuesday.

Allen Hewey, junior transfer from Central Kitsap and Olympic College, pitched three shutout innings and got a save in his debut for Campbellsville (Ky.) University. Hewey could also play some third base for the NAIA power.

Michael Calderon, who pitched two years at Olympic College, remains the ace of the staff at NAIA Bellevue University in Omaha, Neb. Calderson was the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2012 after posting an 8-1 record with a 2.72 ERA. The lefty from Eisenhower High in Yakima is 1-0 after two starts this year. Former OC catcher Mason Castillon from Hawaii is red-shirting at Bellevue and will have one more year of eligibility.

Two North Mason grads are playing baseball for Central Washington (4-8). Sophomore second baseman Kasey Bielec is hitting .371 (13 for 35) and senior pitcher Randy Button is 0-1 with a 1.0 ERA in nine innings and four appearances. He’s made one start. … Josh Sontag, a freshman from Central Kitsap, is a reserve infielder for St. Martin’s (0-10). … Nick Benish, a sophomore from North Kitsap, is a backup catcher/DH at George Fox (5-3). He hit .306 as a freshman in 41 at bats.

Shortstop Haylee Baker, a junior transfer from Bainbridge and Bellevue CC, is hitting .364 for Western Washington. Baker has started all 13 games for the Vikings (7-6) and has one home run and six RBI. Western plays Olympic College in an exhibition doubleheader Sunday in Bellingham.

Central Kitsap grad and Oklahoma State runner Shane Moskowitz, who ran a sub-4-minute mile (3:59.48) earlier this year, was third in the 3,000 meters at the Tyson Invitational in Fayatteville, Ark., on Feb. 9. His time was 8:13.36. … Ruby Roberts, a junior from Kingston at Washington State, was third in the indoor mile at the Husky Classic with a PR of 4:48.15.

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Feherty: A complicated, brilliant guy

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If you like David Feherty, whose colorful off-the-cuff commentary and cynical observations roll off the top of his Northern Irish tongue like rapid machine gun-fire, then you’ll like this profile about the most interesting man in golf. Hell, he might be the most interesting man in sports. And if you don’t like Feherty, you should read this Sports Illustrated.com piece anyway. John Garrity’s written a fascinating story about a fascinating guy who has fought alcoholism (he used to drink two bottles of Irish whiskey a day) and prescription drug abuse. The CBS golf reporter and host of the Feherty show on the Golf Channel is bipolar, suffering from a form of manic-depressive illness, and he’s absentminded. And he’s brilliant. Like I said, you gotta read this story, where he talks about his life and dealing with depression.

Feherty rolled into Bremerton one night for the grand opening at SwingTime Golf Inc., as a favor to Dutch Skiver (that’s another story for another time) and he showed up at Newcastle in Bellevue for a tournament sponsored by Fred Couples in the summer of 1999. He showed off his quick wit and sense of humor on both visits. Here’s a sample of what he had to say:

On Jim Furyk’s swing: “It’s like an octopus falling out of a tree.”

On portly Craig Stadler: “Here’s a man who some years ago swallowed a sofa.”

On Scotsman Colin Montgomery: “He’s a few french fries short of a Happy Meal.”

On JeanVan de Velde’s logic-defying triple-bogey on the 18th hole that cost him the British Open in 1999: “He was just trying to find a way to lose. He didn’t want the responsibility that comes with winning a major championship.”

On the technical changes to the game: “The ball is where they missed out. They should have slowed down the ball years ago. That’s the only thing that makes any difference. That way, you can let equipment manufacturers manufacture what they want. If they slowed the ball down, you can make an over-sized, square-grooved, rhino-sized driver. It doesn’t make any difference if the ball doesn’t go.”

If the was the golf czar, the was asked how he’d alter the rules of the game: “I’d make our own rules instead of relying on the USGA and the RA (Royal and Ancient) to decide rules for our game. We’re on the cutting edge of the sport and much more on the pulse. There’s 600 pages that goes with the rules of golf, and the only reason that 600-page rules book is there is to justify the jobs of those people who use it.”

He offered an example of a rule that doesn’t make sense: “What if a ball rolls onto the edge of a bunker and comes up against a rake, which it shouldn’t be there in the first place at all, and you lift that rake and the ball rolls toward the hole? You’ve got to replace the ball. And if you can’t replace the ball without pushing it into the sand and if it continues to roll toward the hole and won’t stay on the slope, you’ve got to drop it out of the bunker under penalty of the shot. Now that’s a genuinely dumb rule that needs to be changed.”

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Sonicsgate producers speaking at KAR meeting at McClouds on Feb. 27

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Seattle’s Jason Reid and Adam Brown, producers of the award-winning documentary Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team will be the guest speakers at the Feb. 27 Kitsap Athletic Roundtable meeting at McClouds Grill House (2901 Perry Avenue, east Bremerton).

Reid and Brown spent a considerable amount of their own time, energy and money in keeping the Seattle region interested in getting another NBA team. When news broke last month that Seattle native Chris Hansen had purchased a controlling interest of the Sacramento Kings, Reid said in an interview on KIRO-FM radio that it gave him “goose bumps.”

The goal with the Sonicsgate movement was to motivate a guy like Hansen to put money up and get an NBA team back in the Seattle market, said Reid.

“We wanted to put pressure on the NBA and let the rest of the nation know the team didn’t leave because of a lack of fan support,” Reid said.

We know the gamut of emotions losing your hometown team can inspire. To that point, our film ends with this poignant realization by author and Sonics fan Sherman Alexie:

“If we get a team, it’s going to be somebody else’s team … To get a team, I’m going to have to break the hearts of people just like me.”

While we’re it, the Seattle Times recently introduced a new Sonics’ blog — Seattle in the NBA. You can follow the latest news about the possible sale of the Kings to Seattle saga.

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Ryan Moore Golf Club looking to expand as it heads into Year 2

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It’s been a little over a year now since the Ryan Moore Golf (RMG) Club was launched and expansion could be in the works.

Founder and PGA Tour pro Ryan Moore heads the 13-person ownership group that runs the day-to-day operations at McCormick Woods in Port Orchard, The Classic in Spanaway and Oakbrook in Tacoma. His father, Mike Moore, is the CEO. Shawn Cucciardi, former general manager and co-owner of McCormick Woods, is the CCO. I ran into Cucciardi at the Seattle Golf and Travel Show last week in Seattle.

RMG Club offers three levels of unlimited-golf memberships — $49 a month (twilight golf only at one course), $99 per month (golf at one course only) or $179 a month (all RMG courses and includes range privileges). There’s other perks, too, like discounts for guests’ green fees. You can find all of the information at their website.

RMG sold around 1,400 memberships its first year, said Cucciardi, 350 at McCormick Woods. Before the RMG Club came along, McCormick Woods carried about 80 full-time members, most of them home owners in the neighborhoods that surround the golf course who were paying much higher annual dues.

“They just rejoined and saved money,” Cucciardi said of the move to RMG. “To go from 80 to 350, we’ve got a lot of new blood.”

Oakbrook, which was considering closing before RMG purchased the club, now has around 650 members, said Cucciardi.

Those are pretty impressive numbers and you wonder if it will drive other golf operators to offer similar packages. Affordable golf is a pretty good drawing card, especially if you’re providing a quality course to play on.

A year into the operation, Cucciardi said the group has its systems in place, and the group is comfortable running day-to-day business at multiple locations and exciting about expanding.

“We’re looking to grow this,” he said. “We’re looking to add three properties this year (within the Puget Sound area), then do a southern market.”

RMG Club is currently in negotiations to purchase some golf courses in the King County area, said Cucciardi.

“We’ve got people walking through here (at the golf show), telling us, ‘We love what you’re doing. When are you going to come up here’? If you live in Bothell or north Seattle or Bellevue, that’s a long way if Oakbrook or McCormick Woods is your home course.”

Cucciardi said they’ve also talked about adding some desert golf properties in Arizona or southern California to give members “some different places to go.”

Cucciardi said this is all about making golf affordable, and getting new people excited about playing the game that has gone through some trying times over the last decade.

“I think golf has long been seen as very exclusive, very expensive,” Cucciardi said. “We’ve lost a couple of generations of golfers. They don’t feel comfortable around the game. Those are the people out playing soccer and snowboarding. We need to welcome them in. It’s a great lifetime game but we have to be relevant to those generations and we’re (the golf industry) not relevant.”

Cucciardi was asked if the group has got any feedback from within the golf industry.

“Surprisingly, not a lot,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re sitting back watching. Maybe it’s just been we’ve been so darn busy we haven’t put ourselves in a position to (hear what’s being said).”

Cucciardi said the RMG Club’s program is unique to the industry. By sharing resources and expertise, they’ve been able to make improvements at all of their existing properties.

“I have not seen anything similar,” he said. “We’ve got to strike now.”

Ryan Moore remains very involved, and calls all of the time, said Cucciardi.

“His face is on it so he definitely is going to care about what happens,” he said. “He’s a great guy and he needs to focus on his day job, which is playing great golf and he did last week.”

Cucciardi was referring to Moore’s fourth-place finish in the Waste Management Open at Phoenix.

Golf summit set for March 26

Golf Alliance of Washington’s annual summit meeting, an all-day conference on March 26 at Chambers Bay in University Point, is open to the public.

Among other things, you’ll hear about USGA Green Section Outreach initiatives, regional player development, a state of the game report from the National Golf Foundation and get a walking tour of Chambers Bay with course designers Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Bruce Charlton.

Jones and Charlton will talk about changes that have been made to the pure links course, and will give you an idea of how the course will play for the 2015 U.S. Open.

Go to www.wwgcsa.org for online registration and more information. Cost is $55, or $60 after March 22.

Chip Shots

The new clubhouse at the Suquamish Tribe’s White Horse Golf Club in Kingston is scheduled to be completed by early March. The project is on a pace to be completed in nine months. The club has operated out of a temporary pro shop since it opened in 2007. … Tucker’s Restaurant at Gold Mountain has been re-named The Restaurant at Gold Mountain by Columbia Hospitality, the management group that took over operation of the Bremerton city-owned course on Jan. 1. New director of golf Daryl Matheny said the transition has been smooth and things are going well. Matheny was the head pro under former director of golf Scott Alexander, who is leasing property at the course for his golf cart business. … Jeff Mehlert’s Northwest Junior Golf Tour is preparing for its second tournament of the year. It will be Feb. 16-18 and will be played on three Tacoma courses — Fircrest, Oakbrook and Tacoma Country and Golf Club. Go to www.jrgty.com for information. For questions, email Mehlert: jeff@jrgt.com. … Gold Mountain’s aligned itself with Chambers Bay, and The Home Course for a golf package that includes three rounds and two nights at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma. … Chambers Bay, which is hosting the 2015 U.S. Open, is hosting the Washington State Men’s Amateur on June 18-20.

Tour Players with Northwest ties, accoding to Inside Golf magazine:

PGA Tour: Fred Couples, Seattle; Ben Crane, Portland; Robert Garrigus, Gresham, Ore.; Andres Gonzales, Olympia; Jeff Gove, Seattle; Ryan Moore, Puyallup; Troy Kelly, Bremerton; Richard H. Lee, Bellevue; Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor

Web.com Tour: Jason Allred, Ashland, Ore.; Alex Prugh, Spokane; Andrew Putnam, Tacoma; Michael Putnam, Tacoma.

Champions Tour: Fred Couples, Seattle; Bob Gilder, Corvallis, Ore.; Peter Jacobsen, Portland; Kirk Triplett, Pullman.

LPGA Tour: Jimin Kang, Seattle; Paige Mackenzie, Yakima; Wendy Ward, Edwall, WA., ; Kim Welch, Washington State University.

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Lincecum not so freaky; Gibby helping at PLU

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Don’t look now, but Tim Lincecum’s sporting a new look. The San Francisco Giants pitcher from Issaquah has cut his flowing locks. The hippy look is gone, replaced by a clean-cut hairdo that would make most of our mothers proud.

Can we still call him The Freak? That will likely determined by how he fares on the mound. The 28-year-old is coming off a disappointing season, although Tim seemed to have his old stuff back coming out of the bullpen in the playoffs. He was nasty while helping the Giants bag another World Series. He’s making $22 million this year, but there’s plenty of incentive because it’s the last year of his contract.

Whatever happens, you can’t knock what he’s done to date: Tim’s a two-time Cy Young winner, a four-time All-Star and has two World Series rings.

A little known fact: Lincecum’s dad, Chris Lincecum, once played for the Kitsap Outsiders semi-pro club in the early 1970s. He was a pickup player. The Outsiders played their home games at old Roosevelt Field.

The Outsiders coach? Former East High and Central Washington baseball player Wayne Gibson, who assembled the best local talent and augmented it with some of the best players from across the state. Steve Glasser, Butch Holt, Larry Seabaugh, Dave Pyles,

Gibby was an assistant basketball coach at Olympic College, and later head coach at Ferndale High School. He also assisted at Western Washington for a year, and was an assistant under Marv Harshman at the University of Washington for a year before assisting four years at Wisconsin-Green Bay. He’s currently the owner and president of Unlimited Potential and he worked this season as a volunteer coach with the men’s hoops program at Pacific Lutheran.

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Kelly makes cut at Pebble; Richard Lee contending

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Troy Kelly shot even-par on Saturday and it was good enough to get to the fourth and final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Kelly is 1-under par — which was the cut line — after rounds of 73 (at Pebble Beach), 68 (Monterey Peninsula) and 72 (Spyglass Hills). He was one of 15 players tied for 56th. The field’s pretty bunched so if he can go low on Sunday, he should be able to put himself in position to make some decent money.

The field plays Pebble Beach on Sunday. Kelly tees off at 8:45 a.m. TV coverage begins at 10 a.m. on the Golf Channel and moves to CBS at noon.

Another ex-Washington Husky, Richard H. Lee — the former Bremerton City Amateur champion — had four birdies and an eagle for a 6-under 30 on the front nine. He finished with a 66 at Pebble Beach on Saturday and is fifth, three strokes back of co-leaders Brandt Snedeker and rookie James Hahn, who busted out his ‘Ganghahn Style’ celebration after making a birdie putt at No. 16 in Phoenix the week before.

Bellevue’s Lee seems on the verge of breaking through in a big way. He had a tied for 6th at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children’s Hospital in October, tied for fourth at PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament to regain his tour card and already has a tie for 10th this season at the Humana Challenge.

And West Sounders who got a chance to check out Jordan Spieth during his victory in the U.S. Junior Am at Gold Mountain during July of 2011 might be interested to know that Spieth is tied for 17th. Spieth is playing his second tournament since turning pro. The Texan missed the cut at the Waste Management Open last week. Spieth and amateur partner Tony Romo, the Dallas quarterback, lead the pro-am division at Pebble Beach.

The PGA Tour’s western swing ends with next week’s Northern Trust Open at Riviera in Los Angeles.

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Bremerton loses a special lady in Myrt Kressin

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Bremerton’s Myrt Kressin, named the Kitsap Sun’s Female Athlete of the Century in December of 1999, died on Wednesday. She was 87.

Kressin, as Terry Mosher writes in his column that will run in Thursday’s paper, was a special lady.

Kressin was a friend, a mentor, a legend and someone everyone respected. One of the outstanding pitchers in softball during her day, I watched her late in her career when she played for the the Bud Higgs Lakers. Kressin later became the oldest woman to bowl a sanctioned 300 game when she was 71. She was an assistant softball coach at Olympic College for years.

Here’s the story I wrote in ’99 when Kressin was named the Athlete of the Century.

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