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.

A pair of West Michigan men have been charged for their alleged involvement in a $9 million Ponzi scheme, which operated under the name API Worldwide Holdings LLC. It is alleged that from July 2006 through January 2012, API Worldwide Holdings and its operators ran as a Ponzi scheme promising huge returns on investments. Jeffrey L. Ripley, 59, of Sparta, and Danny Lee VanLiere, 60, of Grand Rapids, allegedly defrauded at least 140 victims of approximately $9 million by selling fake securities. The two men allegedly promised high returns on money invested, but never delivered on their promises to victims. Investigation revealed that victims were allegedly defrauded of amounts ranging from $3,000 to $600,000 each.

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.

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.

Keith Krebill bagged a 285-pound elk cow while hunting just south of Johannesburg Dec. 8. The 30-year-old Lakeview man, accompanied by his father and father-in-law, downed the two-year-old elk after five days of tracking a herd.

I think most of you know I’m a huge baseball fan. Most importantly, a huge Tigers fan.