Neighbor Sports

Baseball, softball

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 located 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. For information, call coach Ed Korus at (847) 202-1970 or coach Mark Bart at (847) 428-4777.

Fastpitch tryouts: Arlington Heights Youth Association will hold tryouts for the Arlington Hurricane 2008 fastpitch travel softball teams on Saturday at Thomas Middle School, Arlington Heights Road and Thomas Street at the following times.

•13U and 14U teams -- Noon to 2 p.m. Players must be 13 or 14 or younger on Jan. 1, 2008.

•12U team -- 10 a.m. to noon. Players must be 12 or younger on Jan. 1, 2008.

The rain date is Aug. 26 at the same times.

For more information on the 14U team, contact Myles Naughton at (847) 971-9200 or at mylo@mindspring.com

For the 13U team, contact Francis Fu at (847) 274-3898 or fcyfu@comcast.net.

For the 12U, contact John Day at (847) 772-0160 or dayfamily@wideopenwest.com.

Panther tryouts: Due to rain, the Mid-Suburban Panthers Girls Fastpitch Softball teams will hold their tryouts for the 2007-08 team Sunday, rain or shine, at Wheeling High School varsity fields, Elmhurst and Hintz roads, Wheeling.

Tryouts for the 12U to 14U team will be from 10 a.m. to noon, and 16U to 18U from 12:15 to 2:45 p.m.

In case of rain, tryouts will take place in the field house adjacent to the varsity field. There are no residency requirements. Tryouts after these dates for the Junior Olympic (12U-18U) level will be by appointment only.

For details, call Jim Neubert at (847) 359-5548, or e-mail neub48@comcast.net.

MSBL tryouts: Waycinden Baseball 13U MSBL full-time travel tryouts will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Friendship Park, Algonquin and Kolpin, adjacent to St. Zachary Church, Des Plaines.

Players should arrive a minimum of 20 minutes before the start of the tryouts and come prepared with proper equipment. Players with a birth date after April 30, 1994, are eligible. A second tryout date may be added at the discretion of the team managers.

Anyone interested in having their child participate in the tryout should e-mail vdimaso1@yahoo.com.

Fastpitch tryouts: The Elk Grove Heat, part of the Elk Grove Park District Girls Softball program, will hold its final tryout for the 2008 season Sunday at Elk Grove High School, 500 W. Elk Grove Blvd.

•10U -- Registration and warm-up, 7:30 a.m.; tryout, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

•12U -- Registration and warm-up, 9:30 a.m.; tryout, 10 a.m. to noon

•14U -- Registration and warm-up, 12:30 p.m.; tryout, 1 to 3 p.m.

•16U -- Registration and warm-up, 2:30 p.m.; tryout, 3 to 5 p.m.

•18U --Call the Travel Coordinator to arrange a tryout.

The cost this season is $400 for Elk Grove residents and $450 for nonresidents, which includes two uniforms, tournament fees, umpire fees, bat bag, and winter and off-season indoor training.

For details, call Eric Liewergen at (847) 956-8663 or (847) 528-7748; e-mail card723@comcast.net; or visit www.elkgroveheat.org,

Mustangs Travel tryout: The Rolling Meadows Mustangs 14-and-Under Travel softball team is looking for girls to play on a highly competitive travel team for the 2008 season. The schedule consists of about 45 games, including tournaments. Registration will be held at 1 p.m. and tryouts at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Rolling Meadows Community Center, Field No. 2 (behind Park Central), 3000 Central Road, Rolling Meadows. To be eligible, players must be ages 14 or younger on Jan. 1, 2008.

For information, call Bill Suchecki at (847) 259-1236 or e-mail Big dogslug@comcast.net.

Arlington Heights Travel tryouts: The Arlington Heights Travelers baseball team will hold tryouts for the 14-and-under 2008 season from 10 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Frontier Park baseball field located behind the swimming pool, 1933 N. Kennicott Ave., Arlington Heights.

The Travelers plan to field two teams in the Mid Suburban Baseball League next season. Interested players who were born on or after May 1, 1993, are encouraged to try out. There are no residency requirements.

The teams will also play in several tournaments from April to July.

For details, call (847) 212-0910 or e-mail Arlingtontrave lers@msn.com.

Arlington Cardinals: Tryouts for the 2008 11- to 14-year-old Arlington Cardinals Full Time Baseball Club teams of the Arlington Heights Youth Athletic Association will be held on the following dates or rescheduled in the event of rain.

•11-year-olds, born between May 1, 1996, and April 30, 1997; Sept. 9 at noon; Methodist Park; makeup date is Sept. 17. Tim Donohue, (847) 942-2706

•12-year-olds, born between May 1, 1995, and April 30, 1996; Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at Heritage Hill; makeup date is Sept. 9. Tom Reichel, (847) 312-5454, or Bob Napoleon, (847) 274-1249

•13-year-olds, born between May 1, 1994, and April 30, 1995; Sunday at 4 p.m. at Methodist Park; makeup date to be announced. Brian Milligan, (847) 912-8235

•14-year-olds, born between May 1, 1993, and April 30, 1994; Sunday at 3 p.m. at Heritage Large; makeup date to be announced. Bob Reibel, (847) 767-3487

The fees vary by team, usually ranging between $300 and $500 (depending on fundraising efforts) plus the AHYAA registration fee.

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 held 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.

Hockey

Free hockey day: The Rolling Meadows Park District will host its 3rd annual "Give Hockey A Try" day from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at West Meadows Ice Arena. 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 will also 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 check the Web site at www.rmrenegadeshockey.com.

Swimming

Early registration: The Tiger Sharks swim team, a program of Palatine Park District, will hold early-bird registration for the 2007-08 Short-Course swimming season beginning at 6 p.m. Monday at Birchwood Recreation Center Gymnasium, 435 Illinois Ave. in Palatine.

For information, call Andy Rose, Swim Team Coordinator at (847) 202-3240, e-mail headcoach@ppdswim.org or visit www.ppdswim.org.