| Retailers gear up for big day
Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally gives retailers a significant sales boost - should wake up consumer's wallets with plenty of holiday shopping options this weekend.Greenwood Mall will begin its shopping blitz at 6 a.m., giving away shopping bags filled with goodies for the first 500 adult patrons who show up near the carousel entrance. Bags will be filled with retail discounts and randomly placed prizes, including a Nintendo Wii, and mall gift cards ranging from $50 to $250, according to Greenwood Mall marketing manager Shelli Rose."They typically go very fast," Rose said. "People have been known to line up as early as 4 a.m."Mall shoppers can also browse the mall's seasonal in-line stores, including Pet Dreams, which provides clothing, furniture and other trendy items for pets; Kitchen Collection, which specializes in gadgets for the kitchen; Quail Hollow Candles and Gifts, and Big Country Power Sports, Rose said.At Best Buy, product process manager Kyle Gerkins will accommodate those who flood the long lines at his store early Friday morning with port-a-potties."Last year, people started lining up on Thanksgiving morning," Gerkins said.Gerkins said the store has increased its stock to handle the crowds, especially those looking to stuff stockings with flat-panel, plasma or LCD TVs, MP3 players and video game systems.Gerkins expects the Nintendo Wii to garner considerable attention again this year, since shoppers are still hungry for the console because of supply shortcomings.Digital picture frames, which flash slideshows of snapshots loaded from a memory card, are also expected to be a huge seller.Doors will open at 5 a.m.
#13 Sun Devils Play Host to Wildcats in 81st Duel in the Desert
TEMPE, Ariz. - After suffering a 44-24 loss to USC on Thanksgiving, Arizona State hopes to bounce back against its in-state rival Arizona in the battle for the Territorial Cup. ASU enters the contest 9-2, 6-2 in Pac-10 play. Arizona is 5-6, 4-4 in conference play after a 34-24 win over Oregon on Nov. 15. ON THE AIR
The Sun Devil Sports Network will carry all 12 of ASU's football games live on its 10-station radio network, including flagship station Sports 620 KTAR AM. Tim Healey (play-by-play) and former Sun Devil quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst (color analyst) will call the action. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
ESPN2 will televise the Duel in the Desert to a national audience. Mark Jones will handle play-by-play while Bob Davie will serve as color analyst. Stacey Dales will patrol the sidelines.
£5m pledged for top-class coaches in Scottish sport
A £5m coaching initiative in Scotland, announced in Glasgow yesterday, will increase medal prospects in major championships. Half of the money will go towards employing performance managers or coaches in several sports in order to prepare, competitors up to Great Britain level. The remainder will target more than 8500 volunteer coaches in 21 sports. The aim is to help them gain the UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC). New and existing coaches will be able to undertake these nationally certified courses, with sportscotland subsidising up to 75% of the fees. The lottery-funded project was unveiled at sportscotland's partners' meeting in Glasgow by Julia Bracewell, who chairs the organisation. .
Trial date to be set for Vick on state charges
The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback was not expected to attend a hearing in Surry County Circuit Court to schedule his trial on two felony dogfighting counts. Vick is being held at a jail in Warsaw, Va., after unexpectedly turning himself in Nov. 19 to begin serving time for a federal dogfighting conspiracy conviction. Vick faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 10 in the federal case. The two state charges - beating or killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs, and engaging in or promoting dogfighting - also are punishable by up to five years in prison each. Vick's lawyers have indicated they will fight the state charges on the grounds he can't be convicted twice of the same crime. Vick and three co-defendants, who also face state charges, pleaded guilty to the federal charge in U.S.
'Female Yao'
Wei Wei, the sizable center of the Guangzhou women's basketball team, caused quite a stir at the 6th Chinese City Games. Her performance earned her a reputation as a "female Yao Ming". Although her team failed to top the podium last week after losing to defending champion Nanjing 80-72, plenty of observers took notice of the towering talent. The 18-year-old Wei is 2.07m tall, three centimetres taller than Zheng Haixia, the enormous centre who helped the national women's basketball team win the silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. "Other than Wei Wei, we haven't found any other potential stars," said Gong Luming, former head coach of the Chinese women's national basketball team. Standing at 2.07 metres, Wei Wei will be a scene in the WNBA if she realises her dream of playing in the world's top women's basketball league.
Basketball signups end Thursday
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Monday, November 26, 2007. Valley Press
Youth basketball registrations are currently underway. Divisions are available for boys ages 5-17 and girls ages 5-16. The registration fee is $51 and the deadline is Thursday. Adult basketball league registration is also available for ages 16 and up. Games will be played on Monday and Wednesday nights. There is also a 35 and older league that plays on Sundays. Team fees are $400. For additional information, call Randy Autry at 267-5611. Volleyball Revolution Volleyball Club tryouts will be held at Vasquez High School on Saturday. Ages 15-16 will tryout from 9-11:30 a.m., 17-18's from 12-2:30 p.m., and 12-14's from 4-6 p.m. The tryout fee is $15 for each participant.
Regional Sport Briefs
Fire Pro Wrestling returns Saturday night at Impact Christian Church, 401 W. 82nd Pl., Merrillville. In the main event, the "Aerial Assassin" Roach takes on Cade Lee for Lee's heavyweight title.Doors open at 6 p.m. Bell time is at 7 p.m.Table tennis tourney at Lincoln CenterThe South Bend Table Tennis Center is sponsoring The Highland Open this Saturday and Sunday at the Lincoln Center. The event is due to attract some of the top players in the nation.FYI: Call (219) 838-0114.Friday Night Baseball with Mike ColesFormer Purdue standout and Baltimore Orioles draft choice Mike Coles will hold Friday Night Baseball lessons at Dave Griffin's for ages 9-16. Coles, a member of the Windy City Thunderbolts, will offer instruction in hitting, outfield play and base running. The camp will run from Nov.
Hockey Fix: The week in the NHL
There are scoring streaks, and then there's what Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier (right) did the last few weeks. Lecavalier had an eight-game streak during which he scored multiple points in every game. That run came to an end in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. During the streak, Lecavalier scored seven goals and 14 assists, including a five-point night against division-rival Carolina, while the Lightning went 5-2-1. He also vaulted into the league lead in points. Lecavalier had more points in those eight games than players like Markus Naslund, Jason Spezza and Marian Hossa have tallied this season. After being kept off the score sheet on Wednesday, Lecavalier tallied two points Friday at Carolina. .
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