THE YEAR IN LOCAL SPORTS

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THE YEAR IN LOCAL SPORTS
By Jack Tany
Review Sports Writer

The following are the top local sports stories from 2002:

A Big Name in Local Sports in 2002: Richard Garber

1. The Saginaw Spirit made its debut in the Ontario Hockey League and owner Richard Garber was the driving force behind bringing the team to the area. Garber, who assembled an excellent front office team with President Costa Papista at the helm and local ice favorite Dennis Desrosiers behind the bench, poured a significant amount of time, energy and, of course, money into the project. The local icers made their debut September 21 against the Sarnia Sting in the newly renovated Saginaw County Event Center. Mid-Michigan hockey fans were greeted with an arena that featured a much-needed facelift and a venue with a 'new attitude'.

2.  The Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame inducted its first class of
athletes in October in front of nearly 500 people at Saginaw Valley State
University's Curtiss Hall. Don Bethune, Hall of Fame president, had his
dream finally come to fruition when a total of 11 individuals and one team
were honored with induction. Inductees from the Class of 2002 included Bob
Buhl, Bob Devaney, Reggie Jones, George 'Kid' Lavigne, Al Luplow, Terry
McDaniel, Fred 'Ted' Petoskey, Dick Rifenburg, Ernie Thompson, Bill Watson
and Curt Young, along with the 1973 Arthur Hill High School varsity
football team.

3.  Heritage High School Girl's Varsity Basketball Team captured the Class
A state championship when they spanked Okemos 53-30 in front of 5,168 fans
at Central Michigan University's Rose Arena. A solid senior trio of Katrina
Grantham, Lisa Collison and Kristalyn Mauch led the Lady Hawks, coached by
Tim Conley. The tri-captains have played organized basketball together
since they were 11 and form the heart and soul of the Hawks. A year ago
Heritage lost out to Lansing Everett in the state title game and the three
vowed to end their senior season - and prep careers - as a winner. They
accomplished their goal.

4.  Charles Rogers' breakout season for Michigan State University's
football team. The 6-4, 205 pound speedster from Saginaw High School caught
a school-record 68 passes for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns, while being
named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America team. A
finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which recognizes college football's top
receiver, he set NCAA and Big Ten records by catching touchdown passes in
13 straight regular season games and 14 consecutive games overall. He is
passing up his final year at MSU by declaring himself eligible for the
National Football League draft. He leaves Michigan State after setting a
school record with 27 career TD receptions.

And Another Big Name in Local Sports in 2002: Jason Richardson

5. To no one's surprise, Jason Richardson of the Golden State Warriors became one of the NBA's top rookies. The 6-6 jumping jack from Arthur Hill High School and Michigan State University won the Slam-Dunk Contest and the Most Valuable Player award in the Rookie Challenge game during the All-Star break. J-Rich, who was named Rookie of the Month for February, poured in a career-high 40 points before fouling out in a 120-106 loss to Sacramento on April 16, 2002. Richardson gunned in 18 of 28 shots from the field, including 9 of 11 in the first half.

6.  The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan named Danielle Kamm of
Nouvel Catholic Central High School Miss Basketball 2002. The hard-working
Reese native averaged 18 points and 11.6 rebounds over her four-year career
to become just the fourth Saginaw County prep basketball player to receive
recognition as the state's best. Erin Reed of Saginaw High (1992), Mark
Macon of Buena Vista (1986-87) and Jason Richardson of Arthur Hill
(1998-99) have also earned the state's top cage award. Kamm will be playing
for Marquette University in Milwaukee next season.

7.  Hemlock's Boy's Cross Country team captured its second straight
Division 3 state championship at Brooklyn's Michigan International Speedway
as the Huskies received personal bests from each runner in the lineup.
Coach Bill Agresta's squad locked up the title with 90 first-place points,
while Williamston was second with 113. Leading the Huskies were seniors
Steve Czymbor (15:38.05) and Nick Puchacz (15:49.20) who captured second
and third place, respectively. Czymbor's time set a school record. Senior
Joe Frost placed 20th (16:28), Craig Madaleno was 37th (16:46) and Adam
Beyersdorf rounded out the scoring with an 83rd place finish (17:13).

8.  LaMarr Woodley, a four-year starter for Saginaw High School's varsity
football team, was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan. The 6-3,
252 pound linebacker/guard helped lead the Trojans to an 8-2 record this
past season. In nine games, he was in on 80 tackles, 10 sacks and a blocked
kick he returned 30 yards for a touchdown. Woodley, also one of the top
players on the Trojans' basketball team, is considering Michigan, Michigan
State, Ohio State, Southern Cal and Florida as his college of choice.

9.  David Dinsmoore has made his mark on the mound for Reese High School.
Just a junior, he posted an 8-2 record with a 0.46 ERA and 130 strikeouts
in 61 innings this past spring for the Rockets. Dinsmoore batted .450 with
a county-high 13 roundtrippers. He also drove in 49 runs and sported a .930
slugging percentage. His 30 career home runs and 415 career strikeouts
already rank among the state's top 10.

10. The Great Lakes Storm made its Continental Basketball Association
debut. Playing at the Birch Run Expo Center, the Storm plays a 48-game
schedule (24 home, 24 away) under coach Jeff Grayer, a former NBA player
and a star at Iowa State University. The most recognizable name on the
Storm's 10-player roster is former Flintstone Antonio Smith. Businessman
Greg VanBoxel, owner of the Birch Run Expo Center, and Dr. Joseph
Oesterling, a Saginaw urologist, owns the team.

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