A huge crowd was on hand Saturday night at Crystal Motor Speedway to watch a spectacular night of racing sponsored by Engine Pro.

Prior to this season I had only been to one other Major League ballpark not home to the Detroit Tigers. A few years back I made a trip to Milwaukee to catch a Brewers and Chicago Cubs game. It was an excellent ballpark and time, but It wasn’t the same not watching the Tigers.

The Fourth of July holiday has always made Crystal Motor Speedway a very busy place and this Independence Day was no different. Fresh off a race June 30th, racers and fans gathered again at the speedway on the eve of the national holiday and then again on Saturday a mere four days later.

Jason Krizan has been on a tear since coming off the disabled list June 28. The West Michigan Whitecaps left fielder was 3-for-3 with three runs scored Thursday night to lead the Whitecaps to a 5-1 win over the Lake County Captains at Fifth Third Ballpark.

The final game of the O-K Blue Conference season for the Belding Redskins baseball team was one they want to forget as soon as possible. Fortunately for them, they play two games today. The Redskins were downed by the Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern Huskies 17-6 Thursday, as the Huskies swept a three-game series.

Two local women’s basketball players were given honors by the conferences their college plays in this week. Belding’s Taylor Johnson and Greenville’s Patty Rewa were given honors by the Mid-American Conference and Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association, respectively.

The Belding Redskins baseball team is planning to head south this spring. To help do so they are willing to get cold or at least let others get cold.
The Redskins are hosting a winter softball tournament on Feb. 11 at Demorest Field to help raise spring training funds for the program. Belding will travel to Cocoa Beach, Fla. for a week of practice this spring.

Football players from all over central Michigan will get a chance to see what an NFL training camp is really like during the Ionia Free Fair. Former NFL players Clarence Love and Damian Gregory joined David Badder of Belding to promote the Gridiron Institute, which is set for July 22 at the fairgrounds.

While there may be snow on the ground today, or at least on its way, there wasn’t any on Wednesday. In fact, temperatures hovered around the 50 degree mark, very close to the record of 52 set in 1975. Typically, mid-January average high temperatures are around 30 degrees.

Right now there is snow and ice on the streets and trials. Not the best conditions for running outdoors.
Come April, hopefully, that will not be the case.