After a very thorough review and voting process, our East and West Hall of Fame Committees led by Dennis Leonard and Anthony Costanzo are pleased to announce the 2017 inductees for the Police Softball Hall of Fame.

The Saint Louis Show Me Classic was held this past weekend, August 5th & 6th. We had pool play, before all fourteen teams were seeded into a double elimination bracket. The field of teams this year was very competitive, with seven of them being Police Softball Majors teams. We had to change the schedule a little and play as many games as possible Saturday, to miss the thunderstorms on Sunday. All teams were down for the marathon on Saturday and we ended up getting all games played before any storms came.

We are soliciting nominations for our year end awards. Please submit any nomination to policesoftball@policesoftball.com (Please do not call, text, instant message etc...e-mail only) All nominations should have the persons correct spelling of their name and a paragraph outlining why they deserve the award. (If you can possibly send a photo, you will be our hero) We will need nominations by 8-20-17.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe was the setting for the 35th Annual Lake Tahoe Classic presented by the El Dorado Cartel. California and Lake Tahoe set the stage with sunny skies and mid 80’s temperatures. The night life didn't disappoint as most players partied with Celebrities and Professional Athletes in the Casinos. Pool play began on Friday as 15 teams competed in a two game series to determine seeding for Saturday's Tournament.

Every year we recognize the best and the brightest stars of our game with the the help of our award sponsor, the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (SCDSA). SCDSA has been invaluable to us in this endeavor and once again we are thankful for their assistance. It is through their assistance that we are able to properly recognize the best of the best. As always, we received many award nominations and our staff had a difficult time selecting the winners. What we know by reading them and from what we see and hear on the fields, is that our game is filled with some amazing people. Our future as a sport is indeed very bright. All the award winners are cordially invited to come out to the World Series on Friday night and receive their award. Congratulations everyone, well deserved!

On August 18th and 19th, 2017, Cali Force hosted the 8th Annual Brad Moody Memorial Tournament at the Big League Dreams in Manteca, California. We had a total 19 teams battle it out, being the most teams we have ever hosted at the Moody Tourney. Eight teams in “A” flight and eleven teams in “B” flight. The following teams attended; Cali Force, Stanislaus, West Coast United, LA Blue, DEA Combo, Nitro, Cen Cal Connection, Nor-Cal Elite, El Dorado Cartel, Degenerates, DVI Gladiators, Most Wanted, Richmond PD, Oakland PD, SF Seals, Lethal Force, Covert, Fremont PD and Nor- Cal Warriors. Thank you to all the teams that attended.

Paul Chavez approached PS last year and through his association with Rockwell Watches and Arpin Van Lines, he coordinated rewarding over 20 PS players last year with Rockwell Thin Blue Line watches at world series XII as a way to thank our officers for their service. Paul will be doing the same thing at world series XIII. In addition to that, Paul wanted to specifically recognize a PS officer this year for outstanding work off the field.

The 2017 2nd Annual Thin Blue Line tournament started off with a bang at The Roost Bar & Grill. With unlimited wings, pizza, and beer from 6:00-9:00 how could you go wrong? 3 games of pool play began Saturday morning until 1:30. There were a bunch of real good games and we had 8 teams finish with a record of 2-1 or better to make the upper division. After pool play Kentucky Blue had the #1 seed, followed by Nassau, Thin Blue Line, NY Hounds, East Coast Lawman, Suffolk, Delco Pursuit, and the Philly A's rounded out the upper division. Maryland Outlaws had a couple bad breaks that put into the lower division but they ended up being the #1 seed. Dayton Metro, SCI Muncy, SCI Rockview, FCC Allenwood, Northern Beasts and USP Canaan rounded out the lower bracket.

Every year Garrett Metal Detectors honors a police softball player who goes over and above the normal call of duty in order to better serve his community. This year, Oakland Police Department Sgt. John Koster was selected for his outstanding efforts in a city plagued by crime and violence. Sgt. Koster supervises the Oakland PD Youth Outreach Unit (Y.O.U.). This unit’s primary mission is to mentor at-risk youth and to bridge the gap between the police and the community. Through Sgt. Koster’s direct leadership and efforts, the Y.O.U. has become an integral part of the Department and the community.

We at PS wanted to take a cue from ESPN. No, we are not going to hammer politically slanted agendas into your living room while you are sitting on the couch eating your Wheaties, but we are going to put the spotlight on players and incidents from our past and humanize the people in our game. Every player on the field, whether we love them or have a little bit of competitive disdain for them, will risk their life for you, and that is something special that very few sports can say. We thought starting off this series with 2017 East Conference Player of the Year Corey Rogerson would be a great way to kick this off. Corey comes into the World Series on the #1 ranked team in the East Conference and we cannot wait to see what they can do with the microscope on them. So here is 20 questions from one of our fav players to watch. We hope this gives you some insight into one of the best players in our game. (Our comments are in parenthesis at the end of each answer)

In the police softball world, Jeff Blair is one of the co-founders of police softball.com and the SoCal Alliance. He is a member of our Hall of Fame, writes a regular police softball article for Softball Magazine and a former World Series Champion. In the police world, he made his bones as a highly respected gang investigator and he is finishing the last run of his career as a captain in a southern California agency. In the world of prognostication, he is known as the Swami. Every year he will make his World Series predictions and he is way closer to right than wrong. Today he is our 20 for 20 subject.

Jimmy Knapp is a member of the World Series Champions Chicago Metro team and one of the legitimate good guys in police softball. We caught up with him recently to spotlight to man behind the jersey. As usual, our comments follow his in parenthesis.

If you know West Coast Softball, you know Q from NorCal. He is a former Defensive Player of the Year and is one of the most exciting players in our our game. We caught up with Q recently and here is his 20 for 20: Name -

Mike Snyder is very well known in police softball. If you do not know who he is, look for the 6'5 250 pound player that runs like a gazelle and hits like a machine. He has won three World Series titles, a World Series MVP, and a Player of the Year with the SoCal Alliance. Mike is now on his first year with the newly reformed LAPD Blue team and he hopes to help bring them their first title at World Series XIII. Here is Mike's 20 for 20 with our comments in parenthesis: :

Matt Tindell is a former Player of the Year and a World Series Champion and he is now a 20 for 20 interviewee. Matt will be our final 20 for 20 subject prior to the World Series so sit back and see what he has to say.

We can debate who the best team and player is, but there is no debate as to who is the strongest man on our circuit is. That man is David Zyski and he is our next 20 for 20!

On the night of October 1, 2017, a cowardly gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, leaving 58 people dead and 546 injured. My wife and daughter were in that crowd and escaped physically unharmed. My daughter had to step over wounded concert goers to escape and there were moments of terror as my wife and daughter were separated for over 10 minutes while the shots rang out. Unable to contact each other, they had no idea if the other had escaped. Fortunately, they both did.One week later my wife and I returned to Las Vegas, feeling blessed and also looking forward to spending the week with brother law enforcement officers from all over the United States and Canada. The event we were celebrating was our 13th annual Police Softball World Series at the pristine Big League Dreams complex.

We kicked off the 2018 year with the 19th Annual Brian Aselton Memorial Tournament early this year in January but welcomed the sun and 70 degree weather making for a highly competitive tournament with several close walk off games. It didn't take long for the guys to shake off the rust and get right back into it.

Between the World Series and the DEA Kickoff, veteran teams folded, new teams formed, players moved to new teams, new players arrive on scene, and which team has the best new uniforms. But this year, it was much more than that.

Many changes were made this year for our annual softball tournament that probably should have been made years ago. Bacon ball was dropped and John Scollo Memorial was born. We will forever be grateful for Bacon ball and all they contributed in the past. The tournament was moved to a different complex along with the host hotel, and both received very positive reviews.