The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
2007 Year in Sports - July: Local youth highlight summertime
Little League playoffs, basketball camp lead July's top stories
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2008
Though one school year ended and the next was still two months away, that didn't mean there was a lack of sports stories in July.
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As the year reached the halfway point, the area's youth made headlines with Manchester's little league baseball and softball teams entering tournament play. The month also brought about a high-school All-Star football game in East Lansing and surprising developments at Michigan International Speedway.
Here is a look at some of the area's top sports stories for July:
Manchester Area Little League baseball and softball teams competed in district tournaments during the month. The juniors softball team fared the best, advancing to the district finals before falling to Hanover-Horton. Both the Manchester juniors and majors baseball teams ran into tough Ypsilanti teams in their respective district tournaments, while the Manchester minor softball team fell to powerhouses Dexter and Hanover-Horton in its district.
In a press release July 16, Michigan International Speedway President Roger Curtis announced that the speedway and the Indy Racing League would part ways, ending a five-year relationship between the track and the IndyCar Series' sanctioning body. The main cause of the split stemmed from both sides' inability to find a reasonable date for the IRL race next year. Track officials wanted the race held in July, while the IRL was steadfast about an August date. According to Curtis, that would've conflicted with the NASCAR race, scheduled for two weeks later.
Dexter quarterback Johnny Benjamin throws a 32-yard touchdown pass to Rocky Weaver (Harper Creek) late in the fourth quarter July 21 to give the West All-Stars a 9-7 victory over the East in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All Star Game at Michigan State University. Benjamin finishes the game 5-of-11 passing for 98 yards and the touchdown.
The rallying cry of the Detroit Pistons could be heard throughout the Manchester community July 27-28 as area kids had the chance to work on their basketball skills with the pros during the Detroit Pistons Youth Mini-Camp held at Manchester High School.
The two-day camp was open to kids in Kindergarten through eighth grade and drew over 50 participants from across southeastern Michigan. This was the first time the Pistons held a youth camp in Manchester. While the majority of the camps are held in the suburban Detroit area, the Pistons jumped at the opportunity to bring their camp to western Washtenaw County.
"It was an honor to be invited to the Manchester community and share our training camp with many kids," director of Development of Pistons Camps and Clinics, Steve Moreland, said. "Being a two-hour drive, kids out here can't always get to a game. We want to reach out to communities in Michigan that haven't had the chance to experience the power of the Pistons."
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