Local News

Patterson keeps runners on track

As a veteran high school track official, Jim Patterson is a stickler about holding up cards to let runners know how many laps they have to go in the long distance races.

“When I was a senior in high school I got fifth in the mile run at the state meet,” explains the 71-year-old longtime Cedar Rapids teacher and athletic official. “And let me tell you how that happened. It was at the old Fieldhouse in Iowa City on the 220 track, and it took eight laps to make a mile.

“Well, the officials messed up. Some kids ran seven laps, some ran nine. They had two heats, a fast one and a slow one, and they decided to declare winners from each heat.

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Summer men's basketball league back at Coe

The Cedar Rapids Summer College League will be back on the hardwood at Coe College this summer.

The league is sponsored by The Midnight Hoops Program and is for men's basketball players of college age. Most players will come from Coe, Kirkwood, Mount Mercy and Cornell.

Teams must have at least one high school player. Past players from the area also are invited to participate. The goal is to have six teams.

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Ryan Sweeney called up by Chicago Cubs

Ryan Sweeney is headed back to the big leagues.

The Des Moines Register reported Sunday night that Sweeney, a former Cedar Rapids Xavier prep, is being called up by the Chicago Cubs. The Chicago Cubs website said that move is expected to be announced Monday.

“It’s a good feeling,” Sweeney told the Register. “I put in some hard work down here, and hopefully I’ll get up there and transfer it over.”

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New MSR event features Metro hoops

The Metro Sports Report is proud to announce that the first Metro Sports Report.com Classic will be held on Saturday, Nov. 30 at Johnson Hall on the Kirkwood Community College campus and will feature all eight boys basketball teams from Cedar Rapids and Marion.

The new event will be part of the Hall of Pride Scrimmages, as sanctioned by the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and also will salute the Cedar Rapids Salvation Army on its 125th anniversary in the city.

The boys basketball teams from Jefferson, Kennedy, Linn-Mar, Marion, Prairie, Washington, Xavier and Cedar Valley Christian will participate in the MSR Classic with a series of four regulation 32-minute ballgames.

"We are very excited to be staging this new basketball event," said Metro Sports Report president Jim Ecker. "This will be the first time that all eight boys basketball teams from the Metro area will be participating in the same event at one location.

"We're confident that the MSR Classic will be great fun for all the players and fans as we showcase boys basketball in our area."

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