Welcome to the 2012 season! It seems like just yesterday we closed out the 2011 season at Big League Dreams Las Vegas in World Series VII. We hope you enjoyed the off-season. It's now time to dust off the cleats, pull the bat out of garage and oil up the glove. Next week the DEA Kickoff will mark the beginning of the West Conference Police Softball season. That only gives us one week to speculate as to what the season holds for us. So here is the official team by team West Conference preview.

The New York Metro Softball Club is saying “so long” to the Police Softball family. Since it’s inception in 1981 “Metro” has long been considered the standard to which other Police Softball teams would try to emulate. They played with a burning desire to be the best on the field. With more than 90 championship wins to it’s credit, Metro proved to be a worthy opponent no matter what the field was.

Policesoftball.com has issued a press release announcing a new partnership with the RoverPlusNine softball apparel company. RoverPlusNine is an industry leader in supplying high quality softball uniforms at reasonable prices. Widely considered to have the highest quality softball pants on the market, coupled with a vast array of custom jersey options, the partnership is destined to be hugely successful for police softball and Rover! Please check the message board for announcements regarding police package deals, point of contact and photo samples.

3N2 Sports in association with policesoftball.com has brought back their “3N2 MVP Prize Package Promotion” in 2012. The MVP prize package will include a variety of 3N2 products such as footwear and/or apparel.

Complete 2011 World Series Results!!!This year marked the 7th Policesoftball.com World Series which was hosted at the Big League Dreams facility in Las Vegas, Nv. Although there are some basic aspects of the World Series that will never change, there is always something new each year and this year was no exception.

Typically when you think of a Player of the Year candidate, you think of someone who is an impact player. When you play their team, you are typically aware of where this player is playing and where he is hitting because there is a good chance that player will be a major factor in the game. This years' East Conference Player of the Year fits that description to a T. Anytime you play this player's team, you are very aware of where and when Donovan Delaney will impact the game.

In 2009, then Sin City Combo coach Paul Howard, added some new players to the team that would be key to Sin City becoming a West Coast power. The biggest addition was Keith Habig who was a well respected civilian player and who was known as one of the best U-trip pitchers in the area. Keiths presence was felt immediately as he split time between his civilian team and the police circuit. In addition to his fine work on the bump, Keith quickly showed he was one of Sin City's top hitters.

Much of police softball is dominated by offense but here at policesoftball.com, we value defense. Not just run of the mill defense, but the kind of defense that includes 100% effort, sweat, getting dirty and leaving your feet to make the play type of defense. And if you can do all of that with a smile, flair, and a sense of style, so much the better.

Nat Tauber has been a stand out defensive player for the NYPD BLUES for many years now. Nat is the glue that holds the NYPD BLUES infield together and will always be found in the action due to his sense of the game and desire to be a playmaker.

There are many players on the West Coast who are sportsmen but this year we are recognizing one such player who truly typifies the genre. John Sunia of the DEA Combo is arguably among the most powerful hitters in our sport but even his power pales in comparison to him as a sportsman. Whether he is player for his Major police team or his single agency team from Ventura, Johnny is the utmost professional player and friend to all.

When considering a nominee for this award, many factors must be considered. We feel that the person must demonstrate that they emulate the positive reflection of true sportsmanship while representing the professionalism of police standards. Furthermore, the individual must go above and beyond the normal player by promoting the positive influence that policesoftball.com has on the communities and the people that the network serves.

Three short years ago the West juggernaut known as SoCal Lockdown was an upstart small market team known as CYA Lockdown. The team was comprised of correctional officers from the California Youth Authority (Chino, Ca.) and played primarily in the local Guns N Hoses events. Then Brandon St. Aubin stepped in as manager and restructured, refocused and revamped the small market team into a legitimate heavyweight contender.

This is an award that may be long overdue but ironically sometimes success overshadows recognition. What we mean by that is the Ohio Lawmen have been so good that many times we take for granted the job done by their leader. For the Police Softball players who have been living under a rock the last few years, let us introduce their leader, Brad Borowy, who is THE manager of THE Ohio Lawmen. History lesson: In year one of the PoliceSoftball.com World Series, The Ohio Lawmen shocked the Police World by going to Palm Springs California and taking home the stone obelisk trophy that has become synonymous with World Series success. Many of the best teams in the nation were there for year one but that did not phase the Ohio Lawmen. Some thought their victory was a fluke but Brad has shown that anything less than greatness is a fluke for the Ohio Lawmen.

PMC Associates and vertex Standard is a wireless communications company specializing in Two-Way Radios and Systems for Public Safety agencies. PMC Associates and Vertex Standard also proudly sponsor the Team Jersey Police Softball Team. The support of PMC Associates and Vertex Standard has helped Team Jersey attend many of the top tournaments in the country the last two years.

Today we will start the process of naming the PoliceSoftball.com yearly award winners. Over the next few weeks we will name the sponsors, managers, sportsmen, defensive and player of the year awards. All award winners will be recognized at World Series VII in Las vegas Nevada on October 14th. at the renowned Big League Dreams facility. To start off the 2011 awards, we would like to recognize our West Coast Sponsor of the Year, Ancon Marine which is owned by Troy and Bret Hardin.

At the conclusion of a three game bracket on Saturday, bracket winners were Nassau PBA, 21st Century Knights and Team Jersey in the Top Gun Division and the MTA Police in the Competitive. The opening game on Sunday morning brought two big upsets as the Port Authority Police team defeated Tri-State Law in extra innings and the NYC Hounds handily defeated the defending champion Nassau PBA.

On Friday night at the World Series we will be blessed by some true American heroes and warriors. The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team will be at the World Series and they will play a select group of police officers from across the nation. To create our police team, we looked at officers who are active in our sport/website, have given of their time to good causes, and who possibly had military experience. The officers selected to represent PoliceSoftball.com are:

The PoliceSoftball.com/Easton Summer Classic started with most of the top teams in the west to go along with hot and muggy temperatures. The tournament was divided into Platinum and Gold divisions from the outset. The opening games were not set up in the traditional bracket format. Essentially all 10 teams in each division played two games with the seeding being based on wins, head to head, least runs allowed and then run differential.

This is the 2nd installment of a new feature on policesoftball.com that will spotlight some of the circuit’s top defensive players. Typically the sluggers get the press (and the chicks) but we all know that once the home runs are gone, it’s defense that wins games. This article and interview is brought to you by the newest policesoftball.com platinum sponsor. Fred Fimbres who is also known as the AZ GLOVEMAN at www.softballhitting.com. Fred has been a long time supporter of the police softball circuit and he has exceptional deals for ps.com members on custom fielding gloves. Check the message board marketplace section for examples of his custom Luguer gloves or call Fred at 520-709-6193 for more info. The second glove man to be profiled in this series is Quintin Lewis, centerfielder for West Coast Aftershock.

The 2011 Lake Tahoe Classic had 23 teams total. Weather was beautiful low to mid 70's all weekend with great sunshine. Great competitive games and minimal drama. Friday Bracket play had Sac Probation and Las Vegas Heat winning their B Flight brackets at Tahoe Valley, DVI winning the other B Flight Bracket at Bijou and the Host Eldorado Cartel winning their Bracket at Zephyr Cove.

Every year policesoftball.com honors an individual or individuals at the World Series that we dedicate the event to. Past honorees include: Jim Yarosh, Ari Figuroa, Shevy Wright and Eric Kelly. On Friday night October 14th, 2011 after the opening ceremonies and HR derby we will honor a very special group of patriots known as the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. The Warriors will play an exhibition game against some hand selected members of our policesoftball.com community. Without revealing too much information, the police team will be comprised of military veterans and/or members of our softball community that represent what we feel are the spirit of our brotherhood. We will contact those who we want to represent the police team in the next few weeks. Our record attendance for the opening ceremonies was 1,700 in Cathedral City, Ca. (2008). Once you read the story of the Wounded Warriors you will understand why our police softball community should make every attempt make attendance a priority. We would love to have 2,000 fans come out to honor and support the Warriors! PLEASE NOTE: The Warriors will be featured on on HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, first airing Tuesday July 19th, 2011 from 10:00pm to 11:00 EST. Rather than try to explain the history of the team in our own words, we copied the attached article from Sports Illustrated author Phil Taylor. Please read on…

The 30th annual NLEOM tournament, hosted by the Montgomery County Police Softball Club and Budweiser, saw an international field of 23 teams playing in a three day three tiered format. After a great weather weekend at Pine Cliff Park in Frederick Maryland, the following are the results of the tournament.

The West Coast HOF Committee is proud to announce the 2011 HOF Class! The committee worked diligently on the process, and many e-mails were sent back and forth. A nice discussion of the criteria was also discussed amongst the members of the committee. A ton of effort and hard work went into this endeavor, and well earned recognition should be placed squarely on the committee's shoulders. Each member votes on the nominees they would like to see inducted into the HOF, and they also reject any nominee they feel does not meet the selection criteria. The process is modeled after the MLB HOF selection process, and it has been nice to streamline the process. The committee consists of a who's who of West Coast dignitaries. The committee members are:

The NYPD Blues hosted their 1st Annual 911 Commemorative Softball Tournament this past weekend. The tournament was to honor the fallen heroes of 911 and it's 10th year anniversary. The tournament was held at two locations Saturday at Moriches Complex with all state of the art astro turf fields and the weather could not have been any more accommodating. The second day at Medford Complex. The skies were blue and the temperature was in the 80's. This tournament fielded only 9 teams from the East but it featured nine BEASTS from the EAST.

The East Coast Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce our 2011 Hall of Fame Selections to the Police Softball Hall of Fame. First of all I want to thank all of the East Coast Hall of Fame Committee members for their dedicated work and professionalism during our voting process. The committee was selected due to the respect they have earned and the different geographical areas where they live. The committee members are Andy Wurm, Dave Woolfe, Dan Spinelli, Richie Ware, Robbie Freitas, David Stevens, Terry Dugan, Terry Ables, Scott Affholter, Richie Malek, Ron Breeden, Kevin Morris, Vic Ortalano and Steve Matakovich.

The Tournament started with over 100 early bird Masters Players and their wives and players that arrived early getting together at CP Shuckers on Thursday night. Free beer wings and steamed shrimp were enjoyed by all. The Masters tournament started on Friday morning with Virginia Lawmen winning a close game against Charles County Maryland 20-17, Detroit Police beating Ohio Masters 19-9, Wayne Oakland beating Nassau 18-6 Tri-State beat Detroit 27-21, Wayne Oakland beat Virginia Lawmen 25-12. Wayne Oakland team beat Tri-State 22-12. Tri-State then beat Ohio Masters who was beating everyone in loser’s bracket. Wayne Oakland beat Tri-State in the championship.

It was a beautiful day in Vacaville with clear skies and 75 degree weather. It was a good time as many families and friends were at the park grilling and enjoying the sunshine. The homers were unlimited and the balls were rocks. It was a great day for hitters until the Vacaville winds kicked up in the afternoon. Two of the three fields remained homer-domes while the third became a long ball hitter’s nightmare.

The Cathedral City Police Department hosted their 2nd Annual tournament at the Big League Dreams facility in their home town. This year the tournament was renamed the Officer Jermaine Gibson Memorial in honor of the fallen Cathedral City officer who lost his life in the line of duty in March. Officer Gibson crashed during in a vehicle pursuit of a stolen car being driven by a parolee. Proceeds from the event were for the benefit of the Cathedral City Police Department slain officer memorial fund.

This is the first installment of a new feature on policesoftball.com that will spotlight some of the circuit’s top defensive players. Typically the sluggers get the press (and the chicks) but we all know that once the home runs are gone, it’s defense that wins games. This article and interview is brought to you by the newest policesoftball.com platinum sponsor. Fred Fimbres who is also known as the AZ GLOVEMAN at www.softballhitting.com. Fred has been a long time supporter of the police softball circuit and he has exceptional deals for ps.com members on custom fielding gloves. Check the message board marketplace section for examples of his custom Luguer gloves or call Fred at 520-709-6193 for more info.

This year PoliceSoftball.com will attempt to spotlight several tournaments in order to give everyone a little more information on some of our great tournaments and the tournaments on the rise..The first tournament we will spotlight is the 5th Annual New York tournament hosted by the NYPD Blues and Rick Tirelli. The tournament will be held June 4th and 5th at the new state of the Art Moriches Complex in Manorville Long Island, New York. This complex boasts four well-kept turf fields and lights. Parking is ample and the park is secure with fences surrounding the property. Each field has a dugout with separate cage for the on-deck batter.

The 2011 2nd Annual Brad Moody Memorial tournament hosted by Concord Combo and sponsored by CCPOA and Armando Acosta/Easton. The 2nd annual Moody Tourney was held in Hanford, California during the weekend of April 16-17. The weather was in the high 70’s to the low 80’s with some wind at times. Balls were still flying with Easton provided bats and 44 core 400 compression balls. 12 teams attended this tournament. $800.00 in prize money was on the line for the1st and 2nd place teams. MR. and Mrs. Yanez BBQ tri-tip sandwiches for players and their families.

Generally speaking the policesoftball.com circuit is divided with teams either being classified as East or West based on geography. Typically West teams play in tournaments held in California or Nevada. Meanwhile the East teams play in tournaments ranging from New York to Florida and from Virginia to Ohio. West teams have the luxury to be within driving distance of all the major West tournaments while East teams usually have only one or two major East tournaments within driving distance. The West season kicks off with the annual DEA Kickoff in Chino Hills, Ca. every February. Meanwhile the East season really fires up in April with the Bacon Ball West Palm Beach, Florida event hosted by SoFlorida Lawmen player John Scollo and sponsored by Jack Olsen. Come October teams from all over the country come to Las Vegas for the World Series.

Big League Dreams Las Vegas was the setting for this year’s Bacon Ball tournament co-hosted by Jack Olson, Las Vegas Heat and Sin City Combo. The venue is considered one of the finest softball facilities in the nation as it boast 6 replica fields, all with turf infields and unique field configurations. This tournament seems to always draw top teams from throughout the nation and this year was no different. The brackets were loaded with top caliber police softball teams. This year the stakes were raised because in addition to the $1000 cash grand prize and $500 runner-up prize, up for grabs was also policesoftball.com rankings points which will eventually be factored into World Series berths for West teams.

The police softball circuit has a new member, the Milwaukee Heat. This will be the first year for the Wisconsin/Illinios based team but they have plenty of softball experience and lofty goals for the 2011 season and beyond.

The 2011 nomination period is officially open and will remain open until May 1st. If you would like to nominate someone for the Police Softball Hall of Fame, you must do so on the Hall of Fame portion on the message board. After May 1st, the HOF Committees will take one month to receive feedback on the nominees and then they will start their selection process on June 1st.

The National (Non-California) and International teams listed below have been granted a berth in the World Series VII Gold/Platinum tournament provided they pay the entry fee by July 1st. (After July 1st, unpaid spots are not guaranteed).

The weekend of February 12/13, 2011 marked the new season for the West teams at the annual DEA Kickoff in Chino Hills, Ca. Typically this event draws all the top teams from the West as many teams are anxious to show off their new uniforms, debut their new players or simply for an opportunity to play ball after a long off-season. This year was no different as 16 of the West top 25 along with the teams currently ranked 1-7 were in attendance. A total of 24 teams were divided into 8 brackets for round robin/seeding purposes. After pool play, teams were seeded 1, 2 or 3 based on their results. The top 2 teams in each bracket advanced to the A-Flight double elimination playoffs while the 3rd seeded team moved on to the B-Flight double elimination playoffs.

In the past we have brought you previews using Vegas odds, predictions etc. This year we bring you the best and worst case scenarios! Here is the East preview.

In the past we have brought you previews using Vegas odds, predictions etc. This year we bring you the best and worst case scenarios. Look for the East Coast preview to appear next Friday.

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.

Every team has had those players who join them and immediately takes the team to the next level. Alfonso “Zo” Trujillo is that type of player and he did that for the Alliance in 2007. Zo is not only having a great year for the Alliance, he is having his best overall offensive year ever with the team. Zo’s offense and lock down defense at shortstop has led the Alliance to one of their best seasons in their 10 year history. Zo is known as one of the classiest and elite players on the West Coast and also one of the most humble players in the game. Zo is the epitome of an all around player as he excels with his glove, his legs and his bat. Zo is hitting .750 on the season and he has played great defense at shortstop since moving there at the beginning of the year. In addition to being among the team leaders in average, Zo is also one of the Alliance leaders in home runs this year. Every fielder who has played against Zo has quickly realized that the slightest bobble or hesitation will mean Zo will be standing on the next base.

When we look at our Player of the Year candidates, we look for players who elevate their teams by making an unmistakeable and positive impact. Butch Crozier is a veteran player who made that immediate impact when he came to the NYPD Blues in 2009. Since his arrival, the Blues are a much improved team and they once again walk with the swagger of knowing they can play with any team in the circuit. Butch is a legitimate 800 hitter and can change games by his prowess on the bump. With his bat, glove and pitching ability, Butch is a unique player who can change a game in many ways.

Chris Enriquez has been one of the strongest defensive players in the west for some time now and this year he is having a great year for WestCoast Aftershock. Third base is referred to as the hot corner and for good reason. You dont see much style or flash from the position but what you do see are nerves of steel to square up on some of the strongest pull hitters in the game. The throw from thirdbase can be difficult and Chris makes it look effortless.

This years East Coast Defensive Player of the Year honors goes to Alain Cruz of the South Florida Lawmen. Alain, who formerly was a defensive standout for the Miami Metro Red team, has been a finalist for this award in years past and he was also a strong contender for this years Player of the Year award which shows you the talent this young man has.

On September 25, 2010 the Concord Combo hosted their 1st annual Brad Moody Memorial Tournament at the Big League Dreams in Redding, California. We had 8 teams battle it out. Four teams in “A” flight and four teams in “B” flight. The following teams attended, Concord Combo, Choir Boys, Aftershock, Folsom/Sac, Norcal Heat, Richmond PD, San Pablo PD and CHP-FOG. The weather was around 96 degrees. The balls were flying even with the heat, (Sharks 44 core and 400 compression), and the Easton Bats were provided by Armando Acosta. In “A” flight Choir Boys went 3-0 in round robin, Concord, Aftershock and Folsom/Sac all went 1-2 in round Robin. In “B” flight Richmond PD went 3-0 in round robin, Norcal heat went 2-1, San Pablo PD went 1-2 and CHP-FOG went 0-3 in round robin.

Our Sportsman of the Year award for the East Coast will have to be slightly renamed this year as it is a “Sportsmen” of the Year Award. We tried to separate the deeds and brotherhood offered by Dan Pleckham and Mike O’Neill so we could pick a single winner but trying to separate these two are like separating conjoined twins. Both Dan and Mike have travelled all over the country the past years whether it be on their own team or on a TEAM USA format because they love the brotherhood that is police softball. Their team is one of the most active of EC teams and are always well fronted by these two men.

Our Sportsman of the Year award is a very special award because it says as much about the man as it does the player. Andy Domenici epitomizes this award because he is truly an ambassador for our sport and a true friend to every officer in need.

Noel Roberts is the player/manager for the Sin City Combo. Noel stepped into the leadership role this season and had his work cut out for him. At the end of the 2009 season Sin City played great at the World Series and had a ton of positive momentum rolling into the off-season but they needed someone to assume the managers role. Noel did not want to lose that positive momentum so he did an outstanding job communicating with his players and kept them in the loop regarding their 2010 season plans. Before the year started Noel had established a rock solid roster, got the team new uniforms and set the teams schedule. Things did not start well as they played far below their expectations at the DEA Kickoff. Rather than give up, Noel dug in deeper and got the team to refocus on their goal of become one of the nation’s elite teams. Noel’s hard work paid off in the very next tournament when his team cut through their opponents like a buzzsaw in Vegas Bacon Ball. They eventually settled in at 2nd place, but the performance would prove to be a foundation to build upon. They continued improving and played well in venues such as San Diego and Riverside. The break through moment came when they won their first ever gold medal in the Nevada Police and Fire Games in August. Noel’s goal of building his team to elite status on the national stage had been fulfilled!

On September 18, 2010 the NYPD Blues hosted their 4th Annual Baconball Tournament. Due to three other tournaments which overlapped our tournament we only had 6 teams participate. The following teams attended South Florida Lawmen, NYPD Blues, Suffolk County PD, Detective Bureau Queens, NYPD D Sun, and The Bullets. We had great weather and the complex is a brand new astro turf infield with (4) state of the art fields. The day started with the bracket play with the Florida Lawmen and the NYPD Blues winning their respected brackets. Both finishing 2-0. The DBQ team and the Suffolk PD team 1-1 and the D Sun and Bullets 0-2.

The annual Desert Classic was held this past weekend at the Big League Dreams facility in the Palm Springs region of Southern California. This event used to be hosted by the Newport Beach Softball Team but a few years ago was handed over to former SD Gray players, Steve Margetts and Darin Reis. Steve & Darin came up with a unique format where from the onset teams were divided into 3 divisions: A, B, C.

NY Metro showcased power and defense on its way to winning the first Trooper Joshua D. MILLER Memorial tournament held at the Drifton Softball complex in Drifton PA Sept 18, 19. The tournament finals concluded with a NY Metro win over a very gutsy Shamrock team from NJ.

When we look at our manager of the year award, we look at all things including how well a team is doing, what the manager does to give back to the sport, the community, the brotherhood and how his team plays the game. In this years East Coast Manager of the Year we believe have all that and more in John Scollo.

Barona Resort and Casino has been very supportive of the efforts of the San Diego Excessive Force softball team. This year they have been extremely gracious in their support and have helped the team with uniforms, tournament fees and equipment cost.

May we never forget the officers who ran towards danger 9 years ago today

Over the next few weeks PoliceSoftball.com will be announcing our year end awards that we will be presenting at the World Series. These awards recognize individuals for their hard work and their names will be permanently archived in our World Series records section of PoliceSoftball.com. Throughout the year PoliceSoftball.com receives input on these awards and many times these awards are nominated by teams, players and coaches. We review all the potential candidates for the awards and we then make the many times tough decisions because there are some many quality candidates year in and year out. Sometimes the decisions are very clear but many times it is a difficult selection process. Since the inception of our awards program, Anthony “Bigtone” Costanzo has been a huge supporter of our efforts and it is one of the many things he does behind the scenes to help make police softball a better experience for all involved. Bigtone’s unselfish efforts and behind the scenes work is just one of the many reasons why he is so well qualified to to be a 2010 inductee into the PoliceSoftball.com Hall of Fame.

Earlier this year policesoftball.com announced it would be naming its “All-Time” team. Essentially we have identified the players who we believe dominated the sport for an era. An era can loosely be defined as, “a period of time characterized by particular circumstances, events, or personages.” So we did not consider players with a short history in our sport. There are certainly some up and comers who will make a run at the “All-Time” team roster in in the future, but we focused on those who already have had a distinguished police softball career.

This weekend PoliceSoftball.com held its’ first Single Agency Tournament. The tourney was geared to be a fun one day event that gave agencies a chance to play with the officers they work with and also gave some local police departments bragging rights. The tournament was divided into “David and Goliath” divisions with David’s being under 300 sworn and Goliath’s being over 300 sworn.

Sin City Combo fought off some quality teams on its way to winning the 34th Annual Police and Fire Games, held in Las Vegas on August 12th-14th. The three day tournament concluded with a 18-6 Sin City win over Quake for the Gold Medal.

Quality, not quantity was the theme of the weekend in Sterling Heights, Mi this weekend. From the opening Ceremony that Honored the sacrifices of Fallen brother and sister Officers, to the final championship games, The weekend seemed to be as good as it could be for everyone that came to the enjoy the tournament.

The 2nd Annual Stanislaus-5.11 Weekday Classic Tournament was played on Friday, August 13th at the Big League Dreams complex in Manteca, Ca. 10 teams played hookey from work to compete on pristine fields against great competition. PS Top Ten West Coast teams West Coast Aftershock, with newly named Hall of Fame member, Jimmy Lemon, Direct Impact and Nor-Cal Choir Boys were on hand to take Concord Combo, Stanislaus 5.11, Combat/Syndicate, DVI, El Dorado S/O and Sac Probation. Rounding out the field was Team RTA, an All-Star team comprised mostly of So-Cal Alliance and HardCor members. In all, 7 out of the 10 teams are World Series bound.

After careful consideration, West Coast Hall of Fame Chairman Anthony Costanzo and his committee has announced the 2010 West Coast inductees for the PoliceSoftball.com Hall of Fame. The newest inductees are:

The chair person takes the top 10 vote getters and submits the names alphabetically with no scores to the committee and requires them to vote either “yes” or “no” for election to the HOF. This process is again confidential and the chair person counts the votes. If the nominee gets “6” or more yes votes out of 11 they are elected to the East Coast Hall of Fame. This year 2 of the HOF committee members were nominees in the process and were allowed to vote for their top 16 and the “yes” or “no” portion but were NOT allowed to vote for themselves. Therefore they needed 6 out of 10 votes.The entire process is completely documented with e-mail copies of votes and excel charts of the results saved by the chair person to prevent any allegations of wrong doings.

The West Coast Hall of Fame Chairman for the last several years is Anthony "Big Tone" Costanzo. In addition to his work on the Hall of Fame, Big Tone has been a pillar of the Police Softball community for the last 20 years. He started out as a new player with the versatility to play infield or toss the rock from the bump. While speed was never one of Tones' exceptional qualities, hitting was. A typical game for Big Tone was a 3 for 4 with one sent over the fence for good measure. It wasn't long before Tone was both playing and managing the Sacramento Sheriff's team, and doing it with great success. He lead his team to numerous tournament and Olympic medal victories, all the while establishing himself as a great friend and reliable asset to other Nor-Cal managers and tourney directors.

This year PoliceSoftball.com would like to recognize every team MVP during the Friday night festivities. Whether a team is the favorite to win the series or likely to go 0-4, they have that one teammate that really stood out above the rest this season either based on talent, play, heart, determination or effort. Many of these players do not get recognized properly for their team first mentality and PoliceSoftball.com would like to change that.

The Policesoftball.com/Easton Summer Classic was played on July 31-Aug 1 at the Big League Dreams venue in Mira Loma, Ca. The Inland Empire area of Southern California is usually very hot this time of the year, but as luck would have it, the conditions were fairly mild. This facility boasts 7 softball fields with a variety of dimensions ranging from the monster Pawtucket field (330-340-330) to the cozy Vero Beach (265-270-265). This tournament was one of two California World Series qualifiers which meant team rosters were strictly adhered to. Teams had to win or lose with their roster players and not ringers brought specifically to win a berth. And, once again this was a provided bat tournament courtesy of Easton Sports and Real Skilz president Armando Acosta. Once again, the provided bats meant there would be no allegations of shenanigans and everyone had the proverbial level playing field.

This year was the 39th. annual Dayton National Police Championship Softball Tournament and once again it did not disappoint. After an early second-round loss to the defending champion Minnesota Lawmen — rated No. 8 in the East Coast rankings — Ohio rattled off six wins while facing elimination to again face Minnesota in the finals of the 2010 National Police Softball Championship. Coming out of the loser’s bracket, Ohio then needed to win two games against Minnesota in order to secure the championship. That’s what it did. Taking Games 1 and 2 by a score of 18-12 and 25-15, Ohio won its first police softball national championship since 1972 on Sunday, July 11, at Vic Lyons Field (known as “The Hill”).

Zephyr Cove, NV.-------- Another tremendous 3 days of Softball up in 7,250 feet altitude with bright sunny skies all weekend. Tempatures averaged 85 degrees. Bracket play began on Friday in both "A" and "B" Flights with Alliance,Stanislaus, Hardcore and Concord winning their respective Brackets in A Flight and Santa Cruz, Butte County, So-Cal Beach Bums and Folsom J-Cats winning their brackets in B Flight. There were a total of 8 one-run games in bracket play. Friday Nite included a homerun derby which had a showdown between Paul Blandford and Chad Johnson of Hardcore for the title of HR King. Paul outlasted Chad in the final round and won the Brett Helmer Easton bat. Mike McMorrow of DEA( Played with LAPD) finished third. The HR derby raised $620 dollars which was donated by the tournament to two different causes, The Stepon Gray Memorial Fund to help new cadets into the Police Academy in Merced.Ca and to our brother in New York,The Bryan Bangs Foundation. Friday nite concluded with 3 more softball games under the lights at Zephyr Cove.

The weekend was long and hot but at least it didn't rain. Because of the weather the infields were very hard but all who played made the most of the field conditions.The Shamrocks and The Steel City Enforcers met in the championship game in the Gold Division but before they got there both teams had to go through very strong teams. The Shamrocks were the #1 seed and they opened up against the #8 seed which were The Steel City Enforcers. The Shamrocks beat The Steel City Enforcers in the opening game and then they went on to play and beat Montgomery County Young Gunz and Maryland State Police. After losing to The Shamrocks; The Steel City Enforcers had to go on to play Worcester Police Department, Team Jersey, Montgomery County Young Gunz and Maryland State Police.

The ‘SA Law’ softball team comprised of San Antonio officers entered the 2010 Texas Police Games in Brownsville, TX with the bitter memory of our miserable 2009 performance. This year was different and members of the team understood their purpose and goal. Win at all cost and prove to other state agencies that ‘SA Law Softball’ was back and stronger than ever.

The NorCal Mid-summer classic was a great tournament and was pre-designated by 3N2 as a “3N2MVP Tournament”. After the dust settled, two players whose names are pretty well known to police softball were named 3N2 MVPs. The award winners are:Mark “Tolly” Tolliver, who is a former West Coast Player of the Year award winner was his usual self on the bump, tying up batters with precision pitching and shutting down the middle. At this tourney, Tolly’s offense was what stood out as he led the team with an .875 average and had some key HR’s.

The Sacramento Sheriff Razorbacks and NorCal Choir Boys co-hosted one of the most important tournaments of the year this past weekend. The NorCal Mid-Summer Classic was played out in the Sacramento suburb of Lincoln at the beautiful Foskett Regional Park softball complex and twenty of California’s top teams participated in the event. Several factors elevated the status of this tournament including the following:Six (6) World Series berths would be awarded to the top finishers who had not already qualified.It was the first ever law enforcement manufacturer provided bat challenge. Each field had a variety of bats from the top manufacturers to choose from. Since the bats were the same for everyone, there would be no allegations of altered bats or cheating.

The 28th Annual Virginia Beach Softball Classic was held this past weekend and it coincided with the service retirement of the tournament director and Policesoftball.com Hall of Fame member Terry Dugan. It was a special year for Terry and the overall event as a record 32 teams rallied in Virginia Beach to battle on the field and party off the field. Although weather threatened all weekend, no games were affected as it seems the softball gods created an invisible dome around the softball complex to ensure the event was protected. The festivities started on Friday night on the oceanfront boardwalk restaurant Peabody’s where players, families and friends jammed in to celebrate Terry’s retirement party.

The 4th Annual State Razed Classic was held in the CenCal city of Hanford this past weekend and it drew teams from as far north as Sacramento and as far south as Orange County. The Hanford Sports Complex boasts 5 300’ fenced fields with well manicured playing surfaces. The weather was in the high 70’s, the sky was clear and the winds were mild so it made for a perfect weekend of softball.The top 4 seeds following round robin were: DEA Combo, State Razed, SoCal Alliance and HardCor in that order. The biggest story line of the round robin was a surprising 0-2 performance from a stacked NorCal Choir Boys team but their sluggish start would quickly be forgotten.

This years Vegas Baconball saw a great combination of 18 East and West coast teams battling it out at the ShadowRock Complex. With the last three Vegas Baconball winners also going on to win the World Series that same year, this tourney obviously brings some top notch teams and this year was no exception. Thanks to the Sin City guys for kicking the weekend off on Thursday by arranging for teams to take BP at the new BLD complex. This complex is awesome and should help make this years World Series better than ever.

Twin Creeks hosted its 2nd Annual Law Enforcement Tournament @ Twin Creeks Sports Complex located in Sunnyvale,Ca. This year’s tournament was co-hosted by Direct Impact Softball. There was much anticipation to play in the 1st Nor Cal Tournament of the 2010 season. Mother Nature ensured great playing conditions with a comfortable 72 degrees. The tournament began with 6 pools of 3 teams playing on 6 different fields.

To commemorate the 2010 season and a new decade of LEO softball, PoliceSoftball.com plans on naming their All-Time Police Softball Team. This announcement will be made at or just prior to the 2010 World Series. It is PoliceSoftball.com’s intention to name one of these teams every 10 years as the passage of time will surely adjust the make up of the team. As when MLB named the All-Century team, there will be some great players and Hall of Famers left off the list. That is one of the biggest difficulties in creating this team. Another difficulty will be putting word of mouth, legend, myth and eye witness accounts into the proper context of ability. Because there are so many great players, this team may have some players playing out of the position they typically played in. For example, there may be two great shortstops considered and both of them may be better than the second baseman considered. For the purposes of this team, it will be comprised of what PoliceSoftball.com thinks the best All-Time team would be.Furthermore, great players of today in their prime may be overlooked or passed on because he will not have the breadth of a career that others may have. Those players will surely be considered when we do this again in 2020. To create this team, we have been scouting, listening, reading and taking in all the information we can. As this year goes on, we will be speaking to many people who we think can give us an accurate assessment of this team. We will continue to do this right up until the team is announced.We plan on documenting this team in the 2010 World Series area of the PoliceSoftball.com where it can be permanently viewed. In addition to naming the All-Time team, PoliceSoftball.com will revive their annual naming of an All-National team.

At last years World Series we asked that all Hall of Fame members in attendance come out on the field and welcome the newest inductees into that exclusive club. This year the World Series will be moving to Las Vegas Nevada and we are expecting the biggest turnout ever in terms of Hall of Fame members being present. To honor and pay homage to our Hall of Famer’s we are planning on a 4-5 inning Hall of Fame exhibition game between the East and West Hall of Fame Squads. All Hall of Fame members are invited to participate in the game. Coaching duties will be handled by our Hall of Fame committees and this game should be a great way to honor our Hall of Fame members and add some fun to our night.

This last weekend officially marked the west coast kick off to the police softball season. As usual, the DEA Kick Off maxed out with 30 teams. This year also saw mother nature looming about but she did not hit like the forecasts predicted and all the tourney games got in without any issues. Every team had two round robin games with the top 2 teams in each bracket going to A flight and the bottom team going to B flight. Once the teams were divided, the double elimination playoffs started. When the dust settled in the A flight, four teams were left undefeated. Those teams were the LAPD Blue vs. the California Quake and the SoCal Alliance vs. HardCor.

Policesoftball.Com is pleased to announce the formation of a new team that will be playing in the circuit this year, Team Vargas. The team is coached by veteran USBP Agent Dave Rodriguez who has previously been in a leadership role with other teams such as Nitro2Go, Southwest Syndicate and USBP Heat. According to Dave, the idea of putting Team Vargas together came late last year after a long time member of the USBP Heat passed away due to cancer.

Mitch Brouillette made his debut with the Alliance this weekend and he made it count as he was named the 3N2 MVP. Mitch had a great tournament leading the Alliance to the tourney win. Mich played stellar defense in centerfield, ran like a deer on the base paths and hit .758 with 8 homeruns. For his MVP play, Mitch will receive a 3N2 MVP prize package consisting of (1) pair of Momentum Trainer Turf shoes, (1) pair of 3N2 Batting Gloves, (1) 3N2 Hat or Visor, (1) 3N2 T-Shirt and (1) Pair of 3N2 Sweat Bands.

This section concludes our 2010 season preview. We would like to thank all the teams that gave us info which allowed us to create a more comprehensive preview on the many changes that took place in the off season. Creating and posting the previews were a lot of work but it is something we truly enjoy and we sincerely hope they made the last few weeks a little more enjoyable and helped get everyone ready for the 2010 season. The 2010 season got a little kick off recently at the Brian Azelton tournament back east and it will kick off in earnest out west next week at the DEA Kick Off tournament. Good luck to all the teams in 2010 and most of all, stay safe as you encounter the wolves in our society who will not hesitate to do you harm.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.by: policesoftball.com

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Today PoliceSoftball.com will continue its feature series which will show a "Season Preview" on some of the off-season moves made by teams. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. If you would like your team previewed, please send us an e mail prior to the end of the series. On each preview we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Every few days this month PoliceSoftball.com will feature a "Season Preview" article which will cover some of the off-season moves made by the teams featured. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the moves listed but we are confident we will get it right many more times than we get it wrong. Not every team will be featured. Only teams that contacted us with their updates or teams that received a lot of press on their personnel moves on the message board will be previewed. On the previews we have listed the teams final 2009 ranking and we have assigned each team an unofficial theme song which we feel reflects that team in some way. We hope you enjoy the work on this and we will be seeing you all soon at the fields.

Next up in the Hot Corner is Steve Buccellato of the Sac Razaorbacks team. Steve has become a fixture in NorCal softball and is one of the people you will see doing more than his share of the workload to keep our sport moving forward.

Ray Ghiliotty, or Ray G as he is better known, is next up on the Hot Corner. Ray G has been a quiet force in police softball the last few years and he has steadily improved his game each year. Ray has somewhat flown under the radar the last few years but after winning the West Covina HR Derby and gracing the home page of PS.com, his game will never go unnoticed again. Ray G. was quite simply one of the best Alliance players last season even though he missed West Palm Beach when he had to fly home from Florida for the birth of his son and he missed most of the World Series when a bad ankle injury put him on the disabled list for two months. Ray G. can play any infield position as well as pitcher and can hit for both average and power. Although he has been likened to George Reyes' little brother because of appearance, hitting ability and friendship, Ray G. has proven his game is all his own and we look forward to watching him in the 2010 season. (Like most of the Hot Corners, this one was sent in prior to the end of the 2009 season)

The off season is about to come to an end for PS.com and it is time for us to get back to work. First off is the rosters. Please submit your team rosters to us in an E mail, Private Message, or best of all, post them yourselves in the Roster area of the PS.com Message Board. Roster are very simple. All we care about for our purposes is: Name (First name and last initial), Agency (Agency you are employed by), Basic Job Description (Police Officer, Correctional Officer, Probation Officer or Parole Officer---WE DO NOT WANT SPECIFIC ASSIGNMENT) and the State in which you are employed. (Even if it is obvious, please add it)

This next Hot Corner profiles Hall of Famer David Stevens. David is no longer an active player on the PS.com circuit but he is still very involved attending tournaments and taking professional quality photographs of the game which have been used by Softball Magazine

This weeks Hot Corner profiles Chad Johnson. Chad has been a well known player for the Nitro2Go team but recently announced a leave of absence. it is rumored Chad may find himself behind the dish for HardCor but that is unconfirmed at this time. This Hot Corner interview was done prior to the World Series so view it with that in mind.

Easton will once again be offering their law enforcement program for a limited time. Brett Helmer & Easton Sports have been big supporters of law enforcement softball and policesoftball.com for several years and they are offering an outstanding program for teams in the police softball circuit!

John Scollo is known to many as the coach of the South Florida Lawmen and tournament director of the West Palm Beach Bacon Ball tourney which is one of the best tournaments on the circuit. John is also a very upstanding guy and will give you his unfiltered thoughts any time you ask for them. John is on our 2010 competition committee and is one of the most hard working guys involved in police softball. John is one of the best hosts in the circuit when your team comes to WPB. PS.com highly recommends this tournament as the level of play and night life are outstanding. This year the South Florida Lawmen and Miami Metro Red merged and this merger has made the new SoFlo team one of the most anticipated teams in a long time. Here is John's Hot Corner submitted earlier in the year.

This week we the Hot Corner will bring you the thoughts of Joe Mestres. Joe works for the California Department of Corrections and can be seen toeing the rubber on softball diamonds across the country as he is more than willing to fly anywhere to play softball with his LEO brothers.

This Hot Corner was sent in by California Quake coach Derwin Longmire. Derwin is a longtime fixture in police softball and he has coached and played his team to a 2006 World Series victory. Derwin's Quake team has been ranked in the top 3 of PS.com since its inception. As with all the Hot Corners you will see over the next few weeks, they were sent in several months ago so read them with that mindset.

We would like to apologize for getting backed up on our Hot Corners but during the off season, we will get caught up. This Hot Corner features PS.com Hall of Famer and Minnesota Legend Dan Scheuermann.