NYPD BLUES WORLD CHAMPS. The Motor City Blues Defeat the Road Dogs to Win World Series VI Gold!!!
Policesoftball.com's World Series VI was held at a new venue this year after spending five successful years in Palm Springs, Ca. The brand new Big League Dreams facility in Las Vegas, Nv. was simply too enticing to pass up as it offered many benefits to the traveling teams including less expensive direct flights, less expensive hotels and the most state-of-the-art softball complex in the nation. The park boasts six replica fields including an American League side (Fenway, Yankee and Angel) and a National League side (Wrigley, Crosley and Dodger) and each side had its own clubhouse that served a variety of food and drinks. The infields were 100% turf so there were no bad hops and no dirt stained uniforms. Every dugout had a mister to keep the players cool despite the desert heat which was actually was not too bad as it rarely topped 90 degrees on the weekend. The park was located only 2 miles from the host hotel, the Golden Nugget, which received great reviews due to its high class feel, very low prices and its’ proximity to the ever interesting Fremont Street.
The World Series is an ever-evolving event and Policesoftball.com tries to forecast the best for the future of the sport and adapt accordingly. In addition to the new location, there was a huge change in the format. For the first time ever there were two divisions, a 30-team “upper” Platinum division for the top ranked teams and a “lower” Gold division for 24 up-and-coming teams and/or small market teams. Based on recent World Series history and based on results from dozens and dozens of tournaments in recent years it is clear there is a natural separation talent wise with the travel teams in our circuit.
This year we pledged to offer something for both levels and we are proud to say that our decision was one of the best we have made since the advent of the website. There were far fewer run-rule games and teams that typically went 0-4 or 1-3 actually won or had a chance to win every game they played in. Many Gold division teams had never come close to being alive on Sunday, but on this weekend more than half did just that. For the Platinum teams, every game was a challenge and it truly brought out the best competition.
No team could be accused of having an “easy draw” or backing their way into the championship game. For the Platinum teams that placed well, simply put, they earned it and silenced any and all haters. Some speculated that having a Gold division would diminish the Platinum division. Nothing could be further from the truth as it was game on in the Platinum division from the word go.
Thursday was the annual open field batting practice where those who arrived early could get some swings on the fields and socialize with other players. Also Thursday day was the Over The Line tournament which saw the team of Mark Tolliver, Todd Amlin and Matt Woolf take the championship. In the evening there was a brief coaches meeting where the rules were discussed including the use of a bat compression machine for the first time.
The East vs. West wives/ladies game followed and a full house saw the West Ladies prevail in a very entertaining game. Next up was the Chicago style 16” game that was coordinated by Mike O’Neill of Chicago-Metro who urged all participants to go “gloveless.” Fortunately there were no broken fingers and the sluggers learned that only someone the caliber of Brett Helmer could actually hit one of those 16” pillows out of the park.
The official opening ceremony was well attended although the typical crowd of 1500+ was less due to the lure of the Vegas night life. Even so per BLD staff, Friday’s gate was 1200 and the sales at clubhouses were outstanding. The Hall of Fame inductions were announced and those players honored on the field included:
Robbie Freitas – Jacksonville Police Softball Club
Doug Cullen – Jacksonville Police Softball Club
Brian MacDermott – New York Metro
John “Doc” Grant – Minnesota Lawmen
Greg Beck – Cincinnati Lawmen
Steve Wilson – New York Metro
Derwin Longmire - Calif. Quake
Chirs Loera - Santa Cruz
Tom Laroque - Calif Quake
Jimmy Lemmon - West Coast Aftershock
Jimmy Gomez - DEA Combo
Gordon Smith - Sacramento Razorbacks
Doug Pullen - Eldorado County Lawmen
Joe Rodi San Diego Excessive Force
William Day - San Diego Blue/Gray
Anthony Costanzo - Sacramento RazorbacksThis year Policesoftball.com decided to declare its All-Time team and those players honored included: C- Dennis Leonard-Jacksonville PSC
P- Sam Sapienza- NYPD Metro/Lawmen
P- Dave Woolf - Dayton Metro
1B- Scott Affholter- Wayne-Oakland/Michigan Lawmen
2B- Richie Malek- NY Metro
SS- Johnny Mack- LASD Red
3B- Rick Record- LAPD Blue
5 Man- Donny Meyer- NY Metro
OF- John "Soup" Anderson-Michigan Lawmen
OF- Ron Connor LASD Red/DEA Combo/Quake
OF- Jerry Harkins-NY Metro
OF- Ron “Benji” Lehner- Minnesota Lawmen
OF- Derwin Longmire- Quake
DH- Doug Cullen- Jacksonville PSC
Utility IF/P- Jim Gomez- DEA Combo
Manager- Walt Conry- NY Metro
Coach- Dennis McKee- Wayne-Oakland
Coach- Terry Dugan- Virginia Lawmen
Coach- Robbie Freitas- Jacksonville PSCAs part of the ceremony the Year End Awards were presented and those honored were:
East Coast Sponsor of the Year: Don Caravona and Mike Czack - Team Kentucky and Ohio
West Coast Sponsor of the Year: Barona Resort and Casino
East Coast Manager of the Year: John Scollo - South Florida Lawmen
West Coast Manager of the Year: Noel Roberts - Sin City Combo
East Coast Shevy Wright Sportsman of the Year: Dan Pleckham and
Mike O’Neill - Chicago Metro
West Coast Shevy Wright Sportsman of the Year: Andy Domenici - Concord Combo
East Coast Defensive Player of the Year: Alain Cruz - South Florida Lawmen
West Coast Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Enriquez - WestCoast Aftershock
East Coast Player of the Year: Butch Crozier - NYPD Blues
West Coast Player of the Year: Alfonso “Zo” Trujillo - SoCal Alliance
Brett Helmer from Easton Sports was on the field to congratulate both the Players of the Year and present them each with a new Easton CNT+ SCN2 bat.
Golf
Men's Singles
All male golfers must enter "Men’s Handicap Singles". Age and Handicap divisions will be determined by entrant’s actual age and Handicap as submitted.
Women's Singles
All female golfers must enter "Women’s Handicap Singles". This is an Open Age event. Handicap Division will be determined by entrants actual Handicap as submitted.
Unisex - 2 Person Team
Any golfer entered in Handicap Singles may enter "Unisex 2 Person Team". The team’s age division is the age division of the youngest team member. The Team’s Handicap division is determined by averaging the team members’ Individual Handicaps/Index Numbers. Golfers submitting a Handicap/Index over an 18 will be given an 18 for purposes of averaging and will score using and 18 Handicap.
Dates of Competition
Monday, August 29
Tuesday, August 30
Wednesday, August 31
Thursday, September 1 (Rain Date)
Venues
Bethpage State Park (Red Course), Farmingdale, NY
Eisenhower Park (Red Course), East Meadow, NY
Split Rock Golf Course, Bronx, NY
Boxing
Dates of Competition
Saturday, August 27
Sunday, August 28
Monday, August 29
Wednesday, August 31
Friday, September 2
Venue
Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY
Basketball
Dates of Competition
Saturday, August 27
Sunday, August 28
Monday, August 29
Tuesday, August 30
Wednesday, August 31
Venue
Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York, NY
Soccer
Dates of Competition
Saturday, August 27
Sunday, August 28
Monday, August 29
Tuesday, August 30
Wednesday, August 31
Thursday, September 1
Friday, September 2
Saturday, September 3
Venue
Randall's Island Park, Randall's Island, New York, NY
Baseball
Dates of Competition
Pool Play and Quarter-Finals
Saturday, August 27
Sunday, August 28
Monday, August 29
Tuesday, August 30Semi-Finals and Finals
Wednesday, August 31
Thursday, September 1
Venues
Pool Play and Quarter-Finals
Baseball Heaven, Yaphank, NY
Semi-Finals and Finals
MCU Park, Brooklyn, NY