Metro Sports Report

Huskies headed in right direction

Ed Betsworth got excited a few weeks ago when a family from Wisconsin, pondering a possible move to Iowa, visited Cedar Valley Christian School to see if they might want to enroll their son in the private academy in Cedar Rapids.

Their son stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 230 pounds. Alas, nothing has come of it. Not yet, anyway.

"That would have been a nice addition," said Betsworth, who is the football coach for the fledgling 8-man team at Cedar Valley Christian.

The Huskies were supposed to have played a "Week Zero" game against Gilbertville Don Bosco Thursday night, but that was cancelled because too many of Cedar Valley's players were still on vacation and not available.

Former Metro preps in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Boston Red Sox) -- Was placed on the disabled list July 31 after undergoing surgery for a broken knuckle on his left pinky finger. He is expected to be out until late September. Year to date -- BA - .260, AB - 204, R - 22, H - 53, RBI - 16, 2B - 19, 3B - 2, HR - 0, SB - 0.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), Midwest League) -- Started in left field Friday and went 1-for-3 with a double in the Loons' 2-1 loss to Bowling Green. Year to date -- BA - .265, AB - 458, R - 63, H - 122, RBI - 62, 2B - 31, 3B - 8, HR - 6, SB - 16.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Vancouver Canadians (Blue Jays), Northwest League) -- Started at third base Friday and went 1-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Vancouver's 14-3 win over Everett. Vancouver totals -- BA - .215, AB - 195, R - 27, H - 42, RBI - 27, 2B - 13, 3B - 2, HR - 4, SB - 2.

Japanese team packs happy memories

The baseball team from Yamanashi, Japan gathered in the Kennedy parking lot Wednesday morning to catch their bus and head out of town.

They carried their luggage and equipment bags, as you'd expect, and head coach Kiyoshi Ozawa had several copies of The Gazette tucked neatly under his arm for safekeeping.

The Gazette ran a big picture of Ozawa greeting Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer and tipping his cap before Tuesday's game, and Ozawa was all smiles Wednesday as members of his traveling party teased him about the photo.

Big crowd sees Metro Stars top Japan

For the past several days, people kept asking Metro Sports Report officials how many fans were expected for the Japan-Metro All-Star Classic Tuesday night.

The stock answer was "anywhere from 50 to 500," never dreaming the actual total might approach 500 for the international contest at the Kennedy High School baseball field.

Nobody will ever know exactly how many folks jammed the ballpark, but one informal head count topped 400 and some people thought it was higher than that.

Suffice to say, the game between the Metro All-Stars and a touring team from Yamanashi, Japan was a smash hit.