Lahnert: Bobby Valentine headlines Pampa banquet - A this-n-that kind of day with news about Bobby Valentine, Dex Kjerstad, Johnny Manziel, Bulls scholarships and Jackie Raper of Moore, Okla. Remember Bobby Valentine? Of course you do. Valentine is the former Texas Rangers manager who had a rough go last year managing the Boston Red Sox and was fired. Well, you have a chance to hear him talk and maybe even ask him a question. Valentine has signed a contract to be in Pampa on July 18 as the keynote speaker for the banquet of the 2013 Cal Ripken Regional Baseball Tournament for players ages 9-10. Valentine will speak at M.K. Brown Auditorium in Pampa to players from 10 teams from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. This Ripken Regional will play out July 18-24. The winning team advances to the World Series in Ocala, Fla. The banquet is open to the public, and cost is $20. Although Valentine obviously needs to learn how to manage players these days if he wants back in the major leagues, he is a man blessed with the gift of gab and loaded with baseball stories from his big-league playing days to managing in Japan and the MLB. If you are a baseball fan, this evening would be worth your time, and the money goes to a good cause of helping youth baseball. For more information, contact Ken Davis at [email protected]. Before we let the 2012-13 Amarillo Bulls NAHL championship season vanish — after all, practice for the new season starts in 10 weeks — it must be said what this program accomplishes for the future of these young men is simply amazing. Sixteen Bulls players received NCAA scholarships to further their education and play the game they love at the college level. That’s a hefty number. This means the Bulls coaching staff of head coach Dennis Williams and assistant coaches Rocky Russo and Harry Mahood keeps doing things right on and off the ice for their players. Dave Campbell’s 2013 Texas Football is now on sale in stores around Amarillo. The annual bible of preseason Texas high school and college football is always a must-read for football fans. The story on new Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury is pretty much a rehash of old news. But it is a good reminder of how much his mom, Sally, who died in 2005, influenced his life. You will get your $10.95 worth. Texas A&M fans will be pleased to see their quarterback Johnny Manziel on the cover and a “pull-out” poster of him. An interesting local note is two of the top 30 high school quarterbacks ranked are Canadian’s Ben Arbuckle and Bushland’s Taylor Cornelius. Set your phone, or make your calendar, or get ready to make a road trip Sept. 27. That’s when Bushland travels to Canadian in what could be quite an entertaining Arbuckle-Cornelius air show. One more thing on returning Heisman winner Manziel: I read where he takes most classes online because of all the attention he causes while going to and attending classes in College Station. Puh-leese. He’s not the first famous college football player and won’t be the last. I say just attend class and enjoy the college experience. Former Randall High School baseball star and AGN Media Super Team baseball player of the year Dex Kjerstad had a terrific junior season at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Kjerstad, who originally signed with Texas, helped the Ragin’ Cajuns qualify for the NCAA playoffs by hitting .388 with 12 homers, 44 RBIs and 63 runs scored. He had 99 hits. Kjerstad earned Sun Belt Conference first team all-conference, all-tournament team Sun Belt and was named to the first team 2013 ABCA South Central Region. Kjerstad was one of the best high school hitters I’ve seen swing a bat, and he has one more season remaining with the Ragin’ Cajuns. I received an update from former Amarillo ISD basketball Roger Raper on his mother, Jackie. Jackie’s house was lost in the Moore, Okla., tornado, and she suffered injuries that sent her to the hospital. I threw out the first pitch at a recent Amarillo Sox game, and Amarillo came up with $1,770 to help out Jackie. Jackie was supposed to be leaving an Oklahoma hospital by today after surgery on her left shoulder and elbow. “I can’t tell how thankful we are for Amarillo’s efforts,” Roger said. “My mom has a long road of recovery, but everyone’s help and prayers have been up lifting.” Lance Lahnert is AGN Media sports editor. He can be reached at 806-345-3312 or lance.lahnert@amarillo.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 01:00:16 +0000
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