RGV Capsules: Indoor team coming to Valley
HIDALGO – Chad Dittman certainly didn’t lack in enthusiasm or offers for help during a Thursday afternoon news conference at State Farm Arena announcing the return of indoor football to the Valley.
Dittman was in town to help officially announce that the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) will establish a franchise that will call State Farm Arena home for at least the next three years. The season begins next March.
“I’m so glad to be in the Rio Grande Valley,” Dittman said. “I haven’t met everybody here yet, but everyone has just embraced us so far. It has been an amazing experience.”
Dittman, who will be the team’s owner, was on hand to make the announcement along with league president Thom Hager and Hidalgo mayor John David Franz.
During the news conference, Dittman excitedly told the crowd about the prospects of starting a new franchise in the Valley. Afterward, Dittman had already collected a handful of business cards from prospective sponsors and those who were hoping to become a part of the new franchise’s staff. Hager shared Dittman’s enthusiasm.
“First of all, Texas knows football and you have a great reputation of doing things right,” Hager told those in attendance. “I came into this facility and I was so pleased to see how beautiful it is.”
The SIFL had five teams last season, none in Texas. Dittman said there are plans to establish teams in Houston, San Antonio and possibly Laredo.
The local team replaces the defunct Rio Grande Valley Dorados, who stopped operations last year when the arenafootball2 league folded.
“We had great success with the Dorados so there was a void,” Franz said. “We’re thrilled that the Southern Indoor Football League decided to bring football back to the Valley. I have no doubt that it’s going to have great success.”
Dittman has had his eyes on bringing a football team to the Valley for quite awhile. He owns the Corpus Christi Hammerheads along with the Valley team. The Hammerheads announced this week they have also joined the SIFL. They’ve previously played in the National Indoor Football League, the Intense Football League and Indoor Football League.
“We’ve been watching this market since 2003 and 2004 and now, it’s a neat ending because we finally get to be here,” Dittman said.
The football team will be State Farm Arena’s third main occupant next to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers basketball team of the NBA D-League.
Dittman is hoping to name a head coach by Sept. 1. He said he’s already received 50 resumes from coaches mostly in arena football about the position. The team is holding a contest to select the franchise’s mascot and hopes to make an announcement about that on Aug. 17.
Dittman said the team is in negotiations to have a radio deal to have their home and away games broadcast on KVJY 840 AM, the Fox Sports radio station set to launch on Monday.
David Hinojosa covers sports for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via e-mail at dhinojosa@themonitor.com.
Fishing
TIFT directors expect better turnout this weekend
PORT ISABEL — Anglers welcomed!
One year after participation was down nearly 20 percent according to organizers, Texas International Fishing Tournament directors expect a better turnout for the 71st installment of the prestigious fishing tournament at the Southpoint Marina today and Saturday.
Originally intended to promote the Valley, participation has increased every year in the offshore and bayside fishing competition.
Organizers said the economy hurt the tournament last year more than the cancellation of 2008’s tournament.
TIFT was cancelled in 2008 as South Padre Island, Port Isabel and the rest of the Valley were regrouping after Hurricane Dolly. Still there were 1,263 anglers and 478 boats registered for the two-day event.
Amongst the big catches was a 129-pound yellowfin tuna caught by then 15-year old Jacob Weisfeld.
A veteran of TIFT, Weisfeld started fishing as a youngster in the piggy perch division. He quickly graduated to compete with the rest of the field alongside his father Ronald.
Edinburg’s Smiley Martinez also turned in one of the beauties of last years TIFT. On the second day of competition, Martinez turned in a 40.34-pound amberjack.
It was Martinez’s first TIFT competition and is expected back this weekend.
Drew Fullerton turned in one of the 40 billfish caught last year. Fullerton’s sailfish weighed in a 62.25 pounds edging out Darcy Dierking’s of 62-pounder.
Fishing starts bright and early today with bay fishing starting at 6:30 a.m. Offshore fishing gets started at 7 a.m.
Dock time for the bay division is 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. for the offshore.
On Saturday, start and dock times are the same, except the offshore docks at 7 p.m.
-- Valley Morning Star
Baseball
'Runners win second straight
EDINBURG – Most of those mental woes that Edinburg Roadrunners manager Vince Moore bemoaned about on Tuesday seem to be a thing of the past.
The Roadrunners posted their second straight victory in grand style with a 12-6 shellacking of the Coastal Bend Thunder on Thursday night at Edinburg Baseball Stadium.
“We played a pretty good game today,” Moore said. “We made some good defensive plays, and we made a couple of aggressive errors. I can deal with that. We came out and swung the bats. That was the bottom line.”
Edinburg built a 10-3 lead after fourth and was mildly threatened late. The win came one game after the Roadrunners downed the Thunder, 10-3, in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.
The Roadrunners were sent reeling for the fourth-straight time in the first game Tuesday with a tough 3-2 loss. In between games on Tuesday, Moore said his team lacked focus and that was leading to mental errors in key situations.
Thursday’s victory was big for the Roadrunners because they maintained a hold of first-place by one game over Amarillo in the United League Baseball standings.
Roadrunners third baseman Wilson Batista went 4 for 5 and drove in five. He had two-RBI doubles in each of the first and fourth innings. Bastita actually batted twice in the fourth as the Roadrunners sent 13 to the plate in that inning. He added an RBI-single on his second at-bat in the inning.
“I really saw the ball great at home plate and I hope to keep going like that,” Batista said. “All I was thinking all night long was to stay back and hit the ball hard. Thank god I got four base hits tonight.”
The Roadrunners posted eight runs in the fourth inning to take a 10-3. An error by Coastal Bend shortstop Patty Matera with two outs opened things up. That error, which came on a grounder by Ambiorix Concepcion, led to two runs on that play and then two other unearned runs after that.
Edinburg needed that cushion because its starter, Mark Reeves, was ejected in the fourth inning for apparently arguing with the base umpire following a close call at first base on a single by Coastal Bend’s Ron Fenwick.
Aaron Guerra came in relief of Reeves and gave up three runs (one earned) and struck out three in 3 1/3 innings to earn the win and improve to 4-1.
“He hit his spots,” Moore said. “With Guerra, if they are going to hit him, as long as he hits his spots, they are going to hit the ball on the ground. … For the most part, I thought that was his best performance in awhile.”
Coastal Bend actually led twice before the big fourth. The Thunder took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI-single by Alex Fernandez. They also led 3-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth when Fenwick legged out a slow, high bouncer to Bastista at third that scored Matera. Reeves protested the safe call by base umpire Drew Quarles and was thrown out of the game shortly after.
The Roadrunners earned the big win despite getting out-hit 16-10. Their big fourth inning proved to be the difference.
Edinburg will try to ride that momentum beginning today when the open a four-game series at San Angelo and returning home for a four-game showdown against Amarillo beginning Tuesday.
“I think everyone in the dug out knows what we have to do,” Batista said. “We’re starting to play again like a team.”
David Hinojosa covers sports for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442 or via e-mail at dhinojosa@themonitor.com.
