F.C.Invitati I By RANDY PETTITT I Special to the Chronicle A few years from now, it might I be hailed as the "Frank Spencer I Classic of high school baseball," I but right now, area coaches just I call it a good idea. I The Forsyth County lnvitaI tional Baseball Tournament, I under way this week at Krites I Field in the South Little League complex, is in its third year, and I it's beginning to catch on. I Former Parkland baseball I Coach Jerry Issacs and current I Coach Fred Norman simply I revived an old idea of having all I of the county baseball teams play in a iuui uameru. Starting with four teams in 1985, Norman says the tournament has grown to include all eight county schools and should continue to gain interest for high school baseball in the area. "The reason why we got this thing going in the first place was to help give baseball in our area a little more publicity and stir up some interest in the sport,'* Norman said. If baseball gains more acceptance in the county, he said, then that will open the door for more blacks to take an interest in the sport. "I'd like to see more black kids get involved in baseball," Norman said. "The little leagues don't seem to be getting enough black interest, so maybe this Cosby, Lasor By The Associated Press I nc a Ktr'ri rr r-* lv/j ni>\jcLc^ ? uoager Manager Tom Lasorda condemned the firing of A1 Campanis following the team executive's remarks about blacks in baseball, and entertainer Bill Cosby said Campanis should have gotten another chance. On ~ABC-TV's-"Nightline"" last Monday night, Campanis made comments seen as inflammatory about race relations and the role of blacks in athletic management. Campanis told host Ted Koppel that he thought blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be a field manager or general manager" in baseball and voiced doubts as to whether blacks even wanted management positions in the sport. Campanis, 70, Dodger vice president of player -personnel, was unavailable for comment, but Lasorda, a close friend of the fired executive, voiced disappointment at the decision to fire him. "It's a shame, a crime," Lasorda said. "I think of all the people he's worked for and helped. He made one mistake. Why he said it, who knows? To see him go out this way .... "I hope and pray that the peopie of America can forgive a man . who made one mistake and it cost him," Lasorda said. "This man is going to have to live with this -for the rest of his life. It's not the way it should have ended. The man should've gone out with style and class." One prominent black person who came to Campanis' defense was comedian Bill Cosby. "I think it's silly," Cosby was quoted as saying by David Brokaw, the actor's publicist. "The Dodger organization ... would have exhibited more soul if they had not asked for his resignation. In so doing, Campanis doesn't learn anything about the problem (of racism)," Cosby said. I S.E. THOMAS FL Serving Forsyth, Guilfor AIR TRANSPORTATION fwjrCt I IMOl SINE SERV ICE HJV ? FUNERAL INSLKANC t PC PRE BLRIAl CONTRACTS COLNSE1 INCi SERVICE 475-1945 * ional Touri tournament w ill help baseball w in over some new athletes tor us." Jack Nlusten, former baseball coach at East Forsyth, along with Phil Morris, Gray Cartwright and other coaches, started the idea of a county baseball tournament in 1953. The idea worked for several years, but fizzled in 1967 after the tournament began to conflict w ith the state playoffs. The tournament is back now, and according to county coaches, anyone could pull off three wins and take home the 1987 title. .East Forsyth and West Forsyth are the favorites in the tournamant V-? . . ~ 1 iiivm, uui win iucci cadi uiner in the first round, opening the door for the remaining six teams. East has the pitching and hitting necessary to win, but the 5-3 Eagles are coming off a twogame losing streak. East Coach Ron Jessup says that his team should be hungry to make up for the losses with a good showing in Thursday's 8:0C p.m. game with West. West comes in the tournament at 7-3, with a talented left-hander in Jack Kimel, and a streak of hitting spurts. In the Titans' last win was against Parkland, West collected six runs in one inning, five ol them off Mustang walks. The early game at 5:30 p.m. Thursday will pit North Forsyth da call Camp L I - ?y tne resignation, they haven't helped the wrong he has done. He should lick his wounds and become a better person," Cosby continued. "He has apologized, I accept the apology. I hope we can help him become a better man." Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley, speaking at a new; conference in Houston before last Wednesday afternoon's game against the Astros, announced that he had asked for Campanis resignation. "The comments A1 made Monday night ... were so far removed and so distant from what 1 believe and what the organization believes that it was impossible for A1 to continue the responsibilities that he's had with us," O'Malley said. "That's great news," said John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban Leauge. "It's an encouraging sign that maybe Mr. O'Malley and other members of top managemeri't ;in the Dodger organization are going to begin to move in the right direction. "Now, I call upon the Los Angeles Dodgers to take the next appropriate step and hire a black to fill A1 Campanis' vacant position from among the many qualified blacks in baseball." California Assemblywoman Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, was one of the first to call for the executive's ouster. ??T _ 1 11 11 ? ?- ? - ii f i Mian can ivir. w rvianey Torthwith and thank him for his quick action and continue my conversation with him about providing some leadership to help open the doors not only for the Dodgers but in professional baseball in general^ Both Campanis and the Dodgers issued written apologies. In part, Campanis' statement read: "My statements have been construed as indicating a belief that blacks lack the ability to hold such management positions. I hold no such beliefs. However, I, and only I, am responsible for my statements. INERAL SERVICE d and Davidson Counties P THOUGHT hi l PER SO \ \l l/.LD P O. Box 777 110 Highland Ave. Thomasville. N.C. nament is c; against Mount l abor. ! he 4-5 Vikings arc favored to win Jake Ward, the Vikings' coach, says that his team has a good shot of winning the tournament, but is more concerned with conference play. Mount Tabor has a young team, but Coach Fred Willett says the 1-7-1 Spartans are a couple of games away from hav ing a solid team. Mount Tabor starts six new players, but the Spartans have kept most of their games close and could pull off the upset. The host and '84 totirnament - ehamp^-Baiklatid, kicked off the i tournament Wednesday witH~a~~ first-round game against Carver. Parkland was favored to win and had beaten the Yellow i Jackets earlier in the year. The 4-6 Mustangs have hit the ball well, but Norman says they must get solid pitching from a > young staff to win the tournal ment. Carver beat West and tied Mount Tabor, but the 1-7-1 Yellowjackets are inexperienced r at several positions. Coach Mike Styers says the opener with Parkland will be interesting if his pitching holds up. The late game Wednesday pit I ted Glenn against defending tour' nament champion Reynolds. The Demons are 6-4 and have two good left-handers in their piti ehing staff, Rodney Tesh and tanis firing ill-< "Therefore, I apologize to the American people and particularly to all black Americans tor my v I A / \Bei on thi FIERO GT Designed with sleek aerodynamic Standard power is a 2 8 IrterJs/6. r includes l 5""dl"amond-spoke wne GRAND AM Standard on the 1987 Grand Am i electroncially fuel-injected 2.5 lite power rack and pinion steering, a front disc brakes FIERO ~ Standard on Fiero for 1987 is a 2 injected engine a 5-speed gearbc pinion steering and four-wheel pc brakes FIREBIRD Sleek aerodynamics, crisp handle more standard equipment than ev make Firebird a dynamic perform BONNEVILLE The all-new front-w^ee!-dr,ve Bor conditioning, four-speed automati engine, and four-wheel independ* OVER 200 PONTIi THE TRIAD'S EXCLUSIVE DEALER FOR PONTIAC SALES AND SERVICE! V i w, atching on John Barnes, a luxury for most teams. ^ Coach Tim White says that, although Reynolds is not quite as good as last season's 21-5 squad and that Barnes will be out of town and won't play in the tournament, his team has the pitching necessary to win. The Bobcats, who beat the Demons earlier in the year, are 6-6 and have three good hitters in Tim McCann, Shane Ring and Matt Swaim. Dale Ijames, the coach of the Bobcats, says the key to Glenn's _ chances is getting McCann to the plate?wh+t rumws in scoring position. Thi5 cpmifinolc Konin < '30 -? ?? . v JV1I1I1 11IU1J UVglli JiJV p.111. Friday, with the winner of the Parkland-Carver game facing the winner of the East-West contest. The other semifinal matchup Friday features the winner of the Glenn-Reynolds game against the North-Mount Tabor winner. The finals are 7:00 p.m. Saturday. t4I think the fans will get their money's worth," said Ijames. "This is for bragging rights in the county until football season, so 1 think everyone will be gunning for the trophy." Trophies will be given for the championship team, the runnerup, and a Most Valuable Player selected by the coaches. considered Muiemenis ana my inability under the circumstances to express accurately my beliefs." ' I fbneYouL Get, ? PONTL :s and bold new back-end styling. natched to an aggressive manual that ieTs and big Goodyear Eagle GTs . s an r engine, nd power p?i 3-c GMAC FINANCI AVAILABLE ON 191 -er before 9r' *24 MONTH T1 ineville s standard fetures include air c transmission, a responsive 3.8 liter ?nt front and rear suspension. 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