Neighbor Sports - Baseball, Basketball, Hockey & Softball

Baseball

Panthers tryouts: The Northwest Panthers will hold tryouts for its 14-and-under boys travel baseball team for the 2008 season from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Ralph's Woods Park, Field No. 3, 1400 S. Park Ave., Streamwood.

The Northwest Panthers is a travel baseball team entering its fourth season. The team participates in the MSBL "A" division and will play in the 14U league in 2008. Players must be born on or after May 1, 1993. Due to league rules, high school baseball players are ineligible. Attendance on both days is recommended; however, only one day is mandatory.

For more information, contact Pete Lewis at (847) 624-5305 or by e-mail at Proepete@yahoo.com or call Bob Coco at (847) 742-2861.

Crushers tryouts: The Northwest Crushers (formerly the Stone Authority Crushers) U13 Boys Travel Baseball Team will hold tryouts for the 2008 season from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Cannon Crossing Field No. 1.

The field is two blocks south of Shoe Factory Road and McDonough in Hoffman Estates. Players must not be older than 13 on or before May 1, 2008. Non-Hoffman Estates residents are welcome to try out.

The team plays a competitive schedule in the Mid-Suburban Baseball League from April to July. The team will play about 50 to 55 games total. Players should attend both tryout dates. For information, call coach Ed Korus at (847) 202-1970 or coach Mark Bart at (847) 428-4777.

SAA tryouts: The Schaumburg Athletic Association has scheduled travel baseball tryouts for Saturday and Sunday. There are two travel teams that compete at five different age levels: 10-, 11-, 12-, 13- and 14-year-old leagues. Tryout age group, time, date and place follows.

•10-year-olds -- fourth grade, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Polk Fields; birth date between May 1, 1997, and Aug. 31, 1998.

•11-year-olds -- fifth grade, 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Polk Fields; birth date between May 1, 1996, and Aug. 31, 1997.

•12-year-olds -- sixth grade, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Polk Fields; birth date between May 1, 1995, and Aug. 31, 1996.

•13-year-olds -- seventh grade, 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday at Hale School; birth date between May 1, 1994, and Aug. 31, 1995.

•14-year-olds -- eighth grade, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Hale School; birth date between May 1, 1993, and Aug. 31, 1994.

The rain dates for the 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds are Sunday, and Sept. 9 for 13- and 14-year-olds.

To be eligible, SAA travel baseball players must reside within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Schaumburg Park District, Schaumburg School District 54, Schaumburg Township or the village of Schaumburg or have played three consecutive years of SAA baseball. Roster spots are open at all age levels.

Those attending tryouts should be dressed in baseball clothing including pants, shirt, hat, cleats, glove and protective cup. Players must show up ready to play by the posted starting time and plan to stay the entire time. Allow about 15 minutes in advance of the start time for registration and introduction by the coaches.

To speed the registration process, preregister for tryouts by completing the registration form at www.saa-online.com. Go to the Travel Baseball section and select the 2008 Tryouts tab. Find the link to the form at the bottom of the page. Return completed form to any SAA travel baseball manager or commissioner, or return it to the SAA office, 611 Lunt Ave., Schaumburg.

Direct questions to the travel baseball head commissioner at the SAA office. Call (847) 352-7422 and leave a message.

Bulldog tryouts: Bulldog Baseball will hold tryouts for the 2008 season Sept. 9 at Redmond Recreational Complex in Bensenville at the following times: 10U, 1 p.m.; 11U, 2 p.m.; 12U, 3 p.m.; 13U, 4 p.m. and 14U, 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Levon Deirmenjian at (630) 514-4131 or deirm@aol.com.

Basketball

3-on-3 tourney: Prospect High School Athletic Boosters will sponsor its annual preseason 3-on-3 basketball tournament Oct. 14 at Prospect High School, 801 W. Kensington Road, Mount Prospect.

The tournament is open to boys and girls in fourth through 12th grade. There will be separate brackets for each age group, except for high school juniors and seniors who will be combined. Different competition levels also may be added based on registrations.

The entry fee of $100 per team guarantees each team a minimum of three games. All proceeds benefit Prospect Athletic Boosters. For more information or to obtain a registration form, contact Lori Frasco at (847) 670-7811, Bill Reed at (847) 272-6010 or visit the group's Web site at www.prospectknights.com.

Hockey

Free hockey day: The Rolling Meadows Park District will host its third annual "Give Hockey A Try" day from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at West Meadows Ice Arena, 3939 Winnetka Circle, Rolling Meadows. Any kids ages 4 to 12 years old may come and try hockey for free.

Appearances by Skates the Wolves mascot, members of the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Wolves, Chicago Steel and the Chicago Force will be on hand for autographs and pictures. There also will be chances to win Blackhawk, Wolves, Steel and Force tickets. Donations may be made to support the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Fund.

For information, call Bob Veller at (847)-398-2700, ext. 108, or visit www.rmrenegadeshockey.com.

Softball

Players wanted: The Mid-Suburban Panthers 16U Fastpitch Softball team is looking for a few more position players to fill out its roster. There will be fall weekend workouts, games on Sundays with available players, and winter workouts on Sunday nights.

Occasional dome ball (indoor full field) games will be Saturday nights against top area teams from mid-November until the end of February. A full tournament schedule of national qualifiers starts in mid-June, followed by the "A" level Nationals at the end of the season. For more information, call coach Jeff Balcer at (847) 952-2696.